review of surgical amputations

ABSTRACT

A critical review of the pattern ofamputations performed in our general surgical unit at Mayo Hospital, Lahore is presented in this article. The unit admits all emergencies including trauma and orthopaedics. 172 amputations were performed during 1981 and 1993 on 152 patients needing more than one amputation. The indications for these amputations in order of incidence were trauma, peripheral occlusive vascular disease, malignancy, congenital malformation, burns, puerperal sepsis and maduromycosis. Major amputations of the limbs were necessitated in cases of trauma and occlusive disease, whereas minor amputations of digits and toes were performed on patients of younger age group ranging from 6-20 years for congenital and traumatic reasons. Regretfully poor training facilities of young workers and employment of untrained labour especially young children in heavy mechanical work lead to numerous accidents needing amputations. This review is confined to the amputations of the extremities only