Salvage of end stage ischemic extremities by intact omentum.

Many patients eventually require a limb amputation because of peripheral vascular insufficiency which is unamenable to conventional reconstructive procedures. Microsurgical vascular techniques to join a free omental graft to vessels in the groin of an ischemic limb have been shown to be effective in preserving viability of a compromised extremity. However, the intact pedicled omentum can also introduce a new source of blood into such a limb by a relatively simple procedure and with the expectation that the vascular flow through intact omental vessels will remain functional for an indefinite period. Clinical trials using the intact omentum to salvage limbs unsuitable by conventional revascularization procedures appear to be justified.