REVIEWS   

Chirurgia del Piede 2010 April;34(1):27-31

Copyright © 2010 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Immune response as a risk factor in foot surgery

Napoli V. ¹, Napoli E. ²

¹ Centro di Chirurgia del Piede, Clinica “Fornaca di Sessant”, Torino 1 Villa Maria Pia Hospital, Torino

Immune response refers to changes in an organism induced by antigenic stimulus and antibody reaction. Such changes, which constitute the body’s defence reaction, may be beneficial for mounting protection against infection or harmful due to accidents secondary to the antigen-antibody conflict. The processes that concur in triggering this conflict are due to antigen-antibody recognition and interaction, leading to hypersensitivity and autoimmune disease. More harmful still is a lack of adequate immune response due to congenital or acquired immunodeficiency. In surgery, immune response is a risk factor when it alters or plays an active role in triggering an acute or chronic disease. In foot surgery, there is a growing number of patients with altered immune response due to immunodeficiency or hypersensitivity and/or foot pathologies caused by autoimmune reactions.