Abstract
We investigated the prognosis of 24 cases (27 limbs) of major lower extremity amputation caused by arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) and diabetes mellitus (DM) from January 1992 through July 2002. The average age of the patients was 69.7 years (range 31 to 92 years). The average follow-up period was 33 months (range 1 day to 9 years and 8 months). Thirteen cases were caused by ASO, and 11 were caused by DM. Hip disarticulation was performed in 2 limbs (7.4%), above-knee amputation was in 15 limbs (55.6%), below-knee amputation was in 10 limbs (37%). Survival rate for the 24 lower limb amputees was 65.1% at 1 year, 44.8% at 5 years. Five-year survival rate of 13 patients with ASO was 49.0%, and that of 11 patients with DM was 41.6%. Although one patient died of sepsis caused by stump infection, the other causes of death were pulmonary complications (35.7%, 5 patients), renal failure (28.6%, 4 patients), cardiovascular complications (21.4%, 3 patients), and cerebral hemorrhage (7.1%, 1 patient). These results show a limited life expectancy after amputation because of general complications.
