PERIPHERAL ARTERIOSCLEROSIS IN THE DIABETIC AND THE NONDIABETIC

Abstract

It has been repeatedly stated that peripheral arteriosclerosis occurring in diabetic patients differs from that of the nondiabetic. This has aroused considerable controversy and has given rise to many differences of opinion. In view of this we have compared the vascular system in the amputated legs of the diabetic and the nondiabetic patients operated on at the New York City Hospital, Welfare Island, between Jan. 1, 1930 and Dec. 31, 1940. Our findings indicate that the type of arteriosclerosis is similar in the two groups. The only difference as we found it lay in the changes seen in the veins. Our series consisted of 106 patients, of whom 55 were diabetic and 51 were nondiabetic. There were 109 operations, 56 among the diabetic and 53 among the nondiabetic. In each instance the operation was performed at the level of the thigh. The vascular tree was dissected from the site of