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. 2003 Jan 23;27(2):121–124. doi: 10.1007/s00264-002-0421-x

Problems of amputation surgery in a developing country

W Yinusa 1,, M E Ugbeye 1
PMCID: PMC3460656  PMID: 12700939

Abstract

We studied prospectively 87 patients who underwent extremity amputation in the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Lagos in 1995–1996. Trauma from road traffic accident was the most common indication (34/87) with peripheral vascular disease being the least encountered (2/87). Traditional bonesetters' gangrene accounted for 9/87 cases in circumstances that were largely avoidable. Our study revealed that amputation is still being performed as a life-saving procedure, as 44/87 patients presented with gangrene of a limb. The nonavailability of special investigations such as Doppler ultrasound, arteriography, and CT scan was responsible for a delay in definitive treatment in 28 cases. Poor prosthetic services and the absence of a well-coordinated amputee clinic were responsible for some of the unsatisfactory results. We believe that the availability of specialized diagnostic tools and facilities for microvascular surgery, together with a multidisciplinary approach to the management of the amputee, would considerably change the current gloomy picture of amputation in developing countries such as Nigeria.

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Acknowledgment

We wish to thank the consultant surgeons of the NOHL whose patients were included in this study.

References


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