title: Amputation in elderly and high-risk vascular patients.
abstract: Fifty-eight patients underwent lower limb amputation for arterial disease over a 30-month period. Mean age of the patients was 72 years. Cardiopulmonary and metabolic risk factors were present in the majority of the patients. Postoperative one-year and three-year mortality rates were 24, 40, and 76%, respectively. Contralateral amputation was required in one-third of the patients after a mean period of eight months. Only younger and healthier patients returned to a meaningful social life after appropriate prosthetic fitting. In view of the high mortality and morbidity rates, above-knee amputation seems a better choice than below-knee amputation in these elderly and high-risk patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Academic Hospital, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Greant
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van den Brande
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000401:mortality* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*