Clinical Features of Lower Extremity Amputees in Hwa Sung Goon: One Korean County

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and prosthetic uses of lower extremity amputee in one Korean county. METHOD: We asked community health worker in Hwa Sung Goon to recruit lower extremity amputees. We contacted them by telephone and tried to know their prosthetic uses, adaptations and their behavior about prosthetic usage. Also, we recruited all lower extremity amputees in Hwa Sung Goon. RESULTS: In Hwa Sung Goon, the prevalence of lower extremity amputees was 35 persons per 100,000. 93.8% of them had prostheses, more than half of them were not satisfied with their prosthetic use. For last 10 years, they changed into new prosthesis per 2.3 years. CONCLUSION: In one Korean county, the prevalence of lower extremity amputees was 0.03%. Most of them used their prosthesis, and walked independently. Their compliances with rehabilitative intervention were very low.