Major lower limb amputation : causes, characteristics and complications

Abstract EN

Background : The incidence rates of major amputations vary greatly between different countries.

Amputation carries a significant psychological and socioeconomic burden on the individual and the community.

Despite that, major lower limb amputation is a relatively frequent procedure in our center.

To date, there has been no study published to identify the major cause of amputation and the personal characteristics of the patients.

Objective : To identify the causes, patient characteristics and complications of major lower limb amputation.

Design : A Prospective Study.

Setting : Vascular and Thoracic Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, Salmaniya Medical Complex, Kingdom of Bahrain.

Method : All patients who underwent major amputation of the lower limb/s from 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016 were included in the study.

Result : Forty-five patients were included in this study.

Forty-seven major lower limb amputations were performed during the study period.

Forty-one (91.1%) patients were Bahrainis.

Twentynine (64.4%) patients were males and the median age was 66 years.

Thirty (66.7%) patients had no university education.

Thirty-eight (84.4%) patients underwent amputations due to diabetes mellitus (DM) and its related complications.

Seventeen (37.8%) patients had postoperative complications.

Surgical site wound infection (SSI) was the most common postoperative complication, 8 (17.8 %) patients.

The overall 30-day mortality was 10.6%.

Conclusion : Diabetes mellitus and its related complications is the main cause for major lower limb amputation in our study.