Rehabilitation progress after lower-extremity bypass surgery in patients with peripheral arterial disease with different occlusive lesions.

[Purpose] To examine the differences in rehabilitation progress after lower-extremity bypass surgery for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) depending on the occlusive lesions. [Participants and Methods] This was a retrospective study. We included 50 patients (61 limbs; 38 males and 12 females; mean age, 73 years) who underwent lower-extremity bypass surgery for Fontaine stage 2-3 PAD. The patients were assigned to the aortoiliac (A-I) group (n=23), femoropopliteal (F-P) group (n=18), and below-knee group (n=9). We evaluated the postoperative rehabilitation progress and length of hospital stay of these groups. [Results] The postoperative ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI) of the A-I group was significantly lower than that of the F-P group, although there were no differences before surgery. The progress of rehabilitation and the length of hospitalization showed no significant differences among the three groups. The postoperative date of independent walking was significantly later in the presence of complications than in the absence of complications. [Conclusion] The progress of rehabilitation after lower-extremity bypass surgery did not differ depending on the occlusive lesions, and patients may acquire independent walking ability in approximately 5 days in the absence of postoperative complications.