title: Syme's amputation in adults: a long-term review.
abstract: A retrospective study was undertaken in two patient populations to establish the failure rate of Syme's amputation. Failure was defined as an amputation requiring revision to a more proximal level. For traumatic lesions of the foot the failure rate was 29% and for dysvascular lesions it was 41%. The long-term functional results in 55 patients who underwent Syme's amputation for traumatic, dysvascular or congenital lesions were studied. Overall, 73% had good function. The ideal Syme's stump, where the fat pad is centred securely over the distal tibia, was noted in only 22% of patients. The authors conclude that, in the past, technical details may have been overemphasized, because in this study the functional results of Syme's amputation were more dependent on prosthetic fitting. This type of amputation is not recommended for patients with dysvascular lesions because of the high failure rate.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: McElwain
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: English
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D000673:Amputation, Traumatic / Q000601:surgery; D000843:Ankle Joint; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000601:surgery*; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D018409:Foot Injuries; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies