LIMB LOSS: FACTS& STATISTICS - A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY AMONG AMPUTEES REPORTING TO A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN TAMILNADU

Background: Despite advances in medical interventions and emphasis on prevention programs, studies have shown that the rate of amputation procedures and prevalence of persons living with limb loss continues to increase. Today, when amputation is necessary, surgery is undertaken with consideration for the functional aspects of the residual limb.The purpose of this study was to describe the etiology and characteristics of major limb amputees at GIRM, a tertiary care centre. Materials and Methods: It is a cross sectional study, including a total of 500 patients, underwent limb amputations for various reasons, who has reported for prosthesis fitting and disability certificate at Government Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Chennai for a period of 1 year from January 2022 to December 2022.In this study, we studied several variablesincluding age, sex,side of the limb, level of the amputation, etiology etc. Results: In this study, dysvascular disease was the major reason of amputation, followed by traumatic cause, with a male preponderance, with peaking at the age of 41-60 years. Lower limb, being the most common with predominance of transtibial amputation. Conclusion: In contrast to declining rates of trauma-related and cancer-related amputations, we found evidence of a significant increase in the incidence of amputations due to diabetic foot syndrome.Overall, the risk of amputations increased with age. This was true for all etiologies and for both sexes. Males with an average age of 50 generally at higher risk for limb loss than women.