ABSTRACT
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. Twenty-nine [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