Clinical observation was made on 52 Cases of Buerger´s disease treated at the Department of Orthopedic :Surgery of Chunnam National University Hospital During the 1967 to 1966. Following observations were made.
1) The peak age groups were the second and fourth decades, the male predominating over the female.
2) The majority of the patients were from the lowest socioecomomic bracket and were mostly formers
who work long hours in the rice paddies with thir hands and feet submerged in cold water.
´3) In 80.7% of the Cases, the patient smoked more than one pack of cigarrettes a day. 4) The lower extremities were involved 3 times as many as the upper extremities
.5) Pain, ulcers, spontaneous gangrene, absence of pulsation and typical angiography were the most
common presenting features.
,6) The diergnosis of Buerger´s disease was made by typical signs, arteriography and biopsy. Arteriographic
lifferentiation between Buerger´s disease and atherosclerosis was of particular interest to the writer
7) 33 of the cases were operated upon; they were grouped into Type 1 : sympathetic ganglionectomy only
(18 cases), Type 2 : sympathectomy with amputation (11 cases), Type 3 : sympathectomy with venous
bigation (5 cases).
8) Follow-up studies of i year up to 5 years revealed pemanent recovery in 9 cases among Type I patients and in 7 cases among Type 2 patients.
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