BACKGROUND Lower extremity amputation is one of the commonest procedures done in any surgical hospital. The ageing of our population and the persistent trend for delayed and inconsistent referral to vascular surgery are major reasons for large number of amputations in developing countries. Despite advances in lower extremity revascularisation, with widespread use of alternative vein conduit and bypass to tibial /pedal targets, there has been no remarkable reduction in major lower extremity amputation in our country. Compounding the problem, amputations are rarely considered by anaesthesiologist and/ or surgeons as a case of the same magnitude as a major vascular reconstruction or cardiac case. Surgical site infections, flap necrosis, wound gaping, stump pain etc., are some of the night mares of an amputee. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted for a period of one year starting from January 2009 to December 2009 at Dept. of Surgery, Govt. Medical College, Kottayam. Twenty-five cases were taken as control group. Twenty-five were enrolled into study group and in these patients, Fogarty catheter thrombectomy was done. Post surgery complications like flap necrosis, surgical site infection and mean hospital stay were studied in both groups. RESULTS Major postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. Flap necrosis was reported in 4% of cases in study group while that in control group was 24% with exact one tailed P (Chi square test) value being 0.049. Surgical wound infection was 20% and 38.9% respectively in both groups with P value being 0.5 is not statistically significant. Average hospital stay after surgery is 8.92 for case and 10.36 for control with a P value of 0.052. CONCLUSION Fogarty catheter thrombectomy is a very easily performed procedure which helps in establishing better circulation to the stump. It thus reduces postoperative complications like flap necrosis, rate of surgical site infections and also mean hospital stay.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.