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Limb Preservation Program

What is Peripheral Artery Disease?

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a chronic condition where hardening of the arteries, known as atherosclerosis, develops from risk factors such as tobacco use and diabetes mellitus. As our arteries narrow, the decreased blood flow to your legs from PAD can cause pain, cramping and disability with activities.

In the most severe form, chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI), the presence of pain at rest or non-healing wounds and ulcers are warning signs that when left untreated may lead to amputation.

The Limb Preservation Program at Emory Healthcare is dedicated to improving your circulation for a better quality of life and to help you avoid limb loss. Managing PAD is a long-term journey. You need a health care partner you can count on. Our patient-centered team is here to support you every step of the way.

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Why Choose Emory Healthcare

As the only academic comprehensive limb preservation program in the Metro Atlanta area, we take a team-based approach to evaluating your condition.

We consider your unique needs to make thoughtful recommendations about your care options. And we deliver innovative, evidence-based and guideline supported therapies tailored to the presenting symptoms and anatomy unique to each patient.

Patient-First Care

For most people, treating PAD requires multiple procedures. We are dedicated to making your treatment process as efficient, effective and affordable as possible. That’s why we evaluate your entire condition, including any underlying health problems, before talking with you about treatment options.

While there is no cure for PAD, medications and lifestyle changes to modify risk factors are as important as the procedures to improve blood flow, and we will work with you to create a care plan tailored to your specific needs.

Our Comprehensive Team

Our compassionate, multidisciplinary team of specialists has the expertise to treat the full spectrum of problems linked to complex PAD. We work side-by-side in the clinic to deliver individualized care to address your condition and help you avoid amputation. The Limb Preservation Program is led by our unparalleled vascular surgeons. Our multi-specialty and comprehensive program also rely on the expertise of:

  • Wound care specialists
  • Podiatrists
  • Rehabilitation therapists
  • Infectious disease specialists
  • Plastic surgeons
  • Endocrinologists
  • Cardiologists
  • Orthopedic surgeons

What to Expect

Our Limb Preservation Program is unique. We bring all specialists involved in your treatment together to define your healthcare journey. And our dedication to your well-being starts before you walk through our clinic doors.

Our nurse navigator gathers your records and images so we can review them before your first appointment. This enables us to have an informed discussion with you about treatment possibilities and expectations.

During your initial clinic visit, you will meet with a vascular surgeon and wound care specialist to evaluate your PAD and wound care needs. We provide comprehensive management of medical risk factors, diabetic education and wound care guidance. And, if needed, our nurse navigators coordinate any additional advanced specialty care or imaging.

If you need surgery, our program coordinator will handle the planning and scheduling. Or, if you need an urgent procedure, we may admit you to the hospital immediately following your clinic visit. After your surgery, we schedule follow-up appointments with our multidisciplinary team to monitor your progress.

Conditions We Treat

Treating PAD is at the core of our program. This includes offering best medical and surgical treatments for the entire spectrum of PAD, including:

Chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI)

CLTI is the most severe, end-stage form of PAD characterized by persistent, burning forefoot pain (ischemic rest pain), lingering and non-healing sores, tissue loss, and ulcers. Patients at this stage of PAD hold an increased risk of amputation when left untreated.

Intermittent claudication (IC)

IC is a mild or moderate form of PAD where patients develop predictable, reproducible, often disabling or lifestyle-limiting pain and cramping of a particular muscle group due to limited blood flow with activities. Treatment focuses on modifying lifestyle and medical risk-factors, with procedures to improve blood flow focused on improving quality of life rather than preventing limb loss.

Diabetic food infections/ulcers (DFU)

DFU are diabetic-related conditions of the foot including infections, sores, neuropathic ulcers and joint deformities are common. Referral to a wound care specialist and podiatric surgeon are key for functional wound healing.

Failed vascular stent(s) or bypass grafts

If there is a history of attempted or failed prior vascular surgery for PAD progression to CLTI. Referral to a comprehensive limb preservation program allows all future treatment options to be explored.

Non-healing extremity wounds or ulcers

Not all poorly healing ulcerations are the result of underlying PAD. Referral to a comprehensive limb preservation program ensures that a wound care specialist tailors treatment to the cause of the wound.
Treatments We Offer

As the region’s leading limb preservation clinic, we provide a full range of treatment options. We offer many research-proven medical and surgical therapies that are not easily accessible outside of an academic medical center. To treat your condition, we may suggest:

Management of PAD is complex and lifelong. The procedures performed to improve blood flow, whether traditional bypass or less-invasive endovascular therapies, are not a cure. Surveillance duplex ultrasound and other imaging tests will be performed to monitor the durability of treatments, and many people will eventually need additional procedures to manage the condition.

The care provided by the Limb Preservation Program is holistic. For patients who ultimately need an amputation to manage chronic pain or infection, we help with the transition by connecting you with a physical therapy and rehabilitation specialist, a prosthetist and an amputation advocate who can share their experience and answer your questions.

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Refer a Patient

Our limb preservation team is dedicated to serving you and your patients. To make a referral, please visit our online referral sources or call 404-778-5050.

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