The clinical usefulness of leg scanning with radioactive microspheres in arterial insufficiency

Tc(99m) labeled microspheres (microaggregated albumin particles 15 to 30μ in diameter) were injected into the arterial system of the involved limb. The injection was made either at the time of arteriography (either by translumbar aortic or femoral artery injection) or by the direct injection of microspheres into the femoral artery. This technique was used in 23 patients whose limbs were in jeopardy. Two patients were subjected to early amputation without a course of conservative therapy. The presence of hyperemia detected by this technique in an ulcer or associated with a gangrenous digit is a reliable criterion of healing potential, particularly in the absence of pedal pulses. Neither the presence of diabetes nor the absence of pedal pulses correlated with the pattern of blood flow seen by scan or with their potential for healing. The technique deserves clinical application.