Whole-Body Bone Scintigraphy in Detecting Left Lower Limb Arterial Thrombus: A Case Report

Acute lower limb ischaemia (ALLI) is a surgical emergency, commonly caused by arterial thrombosis or embolism (AE).Rapid diagnosis and treatment improve outcomes.Whole-body bone scintigraphy, a static imaging technique, in which the radiotracer Technetium 99m-labelled methylene diphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) is used to diagnose the cause of ALLI.Herein, we report a case of an 82-years-old female patient who presented with a long-standing bilateral knee pain.99mTc-MDP was injected intravenously, and the distribution of the tracer was imaged using a gamma camera.This technique effectively visualises bone metabolism and indirectly reflects the regional blood supply.Unexpectedly, the scan revealed markedly reduced radiotracer uptake in the left lower limb, suggesting arterial occlusion.Subsequent imaging confirmed left lower-extremity arterial thrombus.This case highlights that whole-body static bone imaging can reveal early signs of limb ischaemia by detecting altered bone metabolism, which may reflect impaired regional blood flow.