Are Lower Extremity Re-amputations in Diabetic Foot Inevitable?

• Main Authors: Ilgın Yıldırım Şimşir, Anıl Murat Öztürk, Yakut Shamistanli, Meltem Taşbakan, Şevki Çetinkalp
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bilimsel Tip Yayinevi 2018-12-01
• Series: Flora Infeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Dergisi
• Subjects: Diabetic foot; Amputation; Re-amputation
• Online Access: http://www.floradergisi.org/getFileContent.aspx?op=REDPDF&file_name=2018-23-04-202-207.pdf

Introduction: A major complication of diabetes, which is increasing in the World, is the development of diabetic foot wound. Diabetic foot wounds can cause serious morbidity and even mortality in patients. In the treatment of diabetic foot wounds, surgical treatment is usually necessary besides medical treatment. Lower limb amputation rates in diabetic patients are much higher than non-diabetic patients. Re-amputations may be unavoidable due to underlying risk factors. In this study, it was aimed to determine the re-amputation rates in diabetic foot wound cases. Materials and Methods: We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of diabetic patients admitted to the Diabetic Foot Care Center of Ege University Medical Faculty between 2015-2018. Results: In this period, re-amputation was performed on 50 patients (17.9%) from a total of 280 patients who were followed up at the center. Mean re-amputation time was calculated ± SD 1.7 ± 2.1 years, median (min-max) 1 (0.08-10.0) year. During admission, re-amputation odds ratio was found to be increased by 1.9 and 2.3 times in cases with Wagner 4 and 5, respectively. Conclusion: Diabetic foot infections and limb amputations as a result seriously reduce the quality of life of the patients. The risk of re-amputation increases when the ulcer Wagner’s grade is raised. In order to decrease the rate of amputations, it is necessary to provide foot care training to every patient diagnosed with diabetes, and if amputation is inevitable, it is also necessary to identify risk factors and take essential precautions after the operation.