Major extremity amputations: Indications and post surgery challenges in a Nigeria tertiary institution

Amputation is an ancient procedure which has been practiced for centuries for a variety of indications. The goal of the procedure is to eliminate potential threat to the patient while producing a viable stump for easy rehabilitation.Objective: To identify the indications, postoperative complications and peculiarities of patients with amputation in a native African population.Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study carried out on all consenting patients who had extremity amputation at Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi, from June 2015 to May 2016. Results: During the study period, there were 47 amputations in 47 patients (34 males and 13 females). The mean age of the patients was 35.73 ± 19.43 years. The most common indication for amputation was traditional bone setter's (TBS) gangrene accounting for 44.7% of cases, followed by diabetic foot syndrome at 25.5%. Camel bites accounted for 6.4% of the amputations. The most common type of amputation was below­knee amputation (46.8%), followed by above­knee amputation (25.5%). Five (10.7%) patients had surgical site infection and only 2.1% of the patients developed phantom limb sensation. None of these patients was fitted with a prosthesis due to the high cost or nonavailability of the prosthesis.Conclusion: Complications of TBS intervention were the leading cause of amputation in this study. Gangrene following camel bites was also found to be a peculiar cause for amputation in this environment. Appropriate public health interventions are necessary to reduce the incidence of preventable gangrene. Provision of prosthesis with adequate technical support is essential to proper rehabilitation of the amputees

Clinical outcomes after open locked intramedullary nailing of closed femoral shaft fractures for adult patients in a Nigerian Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Femoral shaft fractures are common injuries in adults. Closed locked intramedullary nailing is the recommended treatment for femoral shaft fractures due to its high union rate. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the outcome of management of closed femoral shaft fractures in adult patients, using open locked intramedullary nailing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a prospective study which was carried out on all adult patients aged 16 years and above who presented within 2 weeks of sustaining closed femoral shaft fractures to the accident and emergency unit of a University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria from January 2013 to December 2013. Pathological fractures were excluded from the study. The procedure was carried out using standard techniques, and each patient was followed up for a minimum of 1 year. RESULTS: Forty-three patients were recruited into the study. They had a mean age of 36.9 ± 11.7 years, with a male to female ratio of 2.9:1. The most common cause of closed femoral shaft fractures was road traffic crashes (95.3%), with motorcycle-related injuries found to be the highest type (56.1%). The rate of union in the study was 95.3%. The average time to radiological union was 14.0 ± 1.2 weeks while the mean time to painless full weight bearing was 14.2 ± 1.2 weeks. Among the complications encountered were broken nails (4.7%), infection, loosening of the distal screw, and limb length discrepancy (2.3% each). Using Thoresen's criteria, excellent results were obtained in 93% and poor results in 4.7% of patients. CONCLUSION: Open locked intramedullary nailing gives excellent clinical outcomes with high union and low complication rates in the management of closed femoral shaft fractures in adult patients.

Comparative Study of Proximal Tibia and Iliac Crest Bone Graft Donor Sites in Treatment of Orthopaedic Pathologies.

Introduction: Bone graft is harvested from bone and used to stimulate bone healing due to its properties. The aims of the study were to compare the quantity of graft harvested from proximal tibia and iliac crest, and the complications at these donor sites. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study carried out on all consecutive patients who had orthopaedic procedures that required bone grafting at the study centre, from April, 2015 to March, 2016. Results: During the study period, 86 patients were recruited; 43 of these patients had bone graft harvested from the proximal tibia, while the other 43 patients had graft harvested from the iliac crest. There were 53 males, and 33 females. Mean age of patients was 41.2 ± 11 years and 40.8 ± 16 years, for proximal tibia and iliac crest group respectively. Average compressed volume of graft harvested from proximal tibia and iliac crest were 7cm3 and 5.5cm3 respectively. Non-unions were the commonest indications for bone grafting, femur was the commonest bone requiring bone grafting. Complications such as primary haemorrhage, pain and surgical site infection were commoner with iliac crest than proximal tibia donor sites, however bone graft harvested from both proximal tibia and iliac crest provided adequate bone union of the indicated procedure. Conclusion: Larger quantity of graft can be harvested from proximal tibia than the iliac crest. Though graft harvested from both the proximal tibia and the iliac crest have good healing properties, the proximal tibia donor site gave less complication than the iliac crest.