Buergers Disease - Symptom, Causes, Treatment of Buergers Disease

Buergers Disease can be defined as the poor circulation of blood in the legs, feet and sometimes the hands, because of progressive inflammatory narrowing and eventually obliteration of the small arteries. Buergers disease is an inflammatry occlusive disease which involves all layers of medium sized and small arteries of the extremitiles. Involved superficial veins bear a close resemblance to those in the affected artery.

The most characteristic features of Buerger's disease include the following:

• Unexplained and commonly intractable pain, tenderness, or numbness-tingling in the limbs accompanied by skin ulcers or gangrene of the fingers or toes.
• Symptoms worse with exposure to cold and exercise.
• Reduced or absent peripheral arterial pulses

Buergers Disease (also called thromboangiitis obliterans) mainly affects men aged between 20 and 40 who are heavy smokers. Buerger's disease appears to be more common in Asians and in the Middle East, is rare among African-Americans, and is very rare in children. Buerger's disease is characterized by severe spasm of peripheral arteries and arterioles, usually in the feet and lower legs, but sometimes in the arms and hands.

Sign and Symptoms of Buergers Disease

The sign and symptom of Buergers Disease are progressively increasing attacks of pain in the feet and legs that are aggravated by exercise; and abnonnal sensations (numbness, burning, pins and needles), coldness and skin discoloration of the feet, when the blood supply is totally inadequate, Gan-Grene may occur in the toes and feet. The symptoms usually disappear over 2-3 weeks, leaving behind blackish-brown pigmentation. "Phlebitis migrans" is characteristic of Buergers disease, but is often missed both by the patient and the doctor.

Treatment of Buergers Disease

Treatment of Buergers Disease consists of scrupulous care of the feet and a carefully graded physiotherapy program to encourage the development of new blood channels. Smokers should quit. Gangrenous parts must be amputated. Majority of the patients develop critical limb ischemia with trophic lesions are distal to ankle, the anklebrachial doppler index could be normal in early stage. Toe pressures can be measured and if it is less than 30 mm Hg, the healing of ulcers is unlikely. The disease though commences peripherally, may gradually extend proximately occluding the larger arteries.

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