The application of preoperative magnetic resonance angiography in the treatment of critical leg ischemia in patients with diabetes ABBREVIATIONS ABPI -ankle brachial pressure index AI - ankle index ARO - arterial runoff CLI - critical limb ischemia DM – diabetes mellitus DSA- digital subtraction angiography DU - duplex ultrasonography GSV- great saphenous vein HKUM - Hospital of Kaunas University of Medicine IHD - ischemic heart disease IS - ischaemic stroke MRA - magnetic resonance angiography NAV – not reversed autovein PAOD - peripheral artery disease PATE - pulmonary artery tromboembolia SD - standard deviation χ2 - Chi-square 1. INTRODUCTION Complications of atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus rank among the greatest “scourges” of the aging population. In the majority of developed countries, mortality from complications of atherosclerosis occupies the 1st – the 2nd places, and mortality from complications of DM – the 3rd – the 4th places [Šulcaitė R., 2002]. One of the main risk factors for the development of atherosclerosis is diabetes mellitus (DM)[Eskelinen, E., 2003; Kozek, E., 2003; Yokoyama, H., 2003]. Clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis are ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebral ischemia (CI), and obliterative atherosclerosis, or peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD). At present, diabetologists used the term diabetes lipidus, thus combining these two diseases into one. Up to 70% of amputations of non-traumatic origin... [to full text]