Objective:
Total or subtotal traumatic extremity amputations constitute a considerable portion of trauma-related emergency department admissions. In this study, we aimed to establish the patients’ age group, educational level and occupational group in which trauma-related extremity amputations are more frequently performed.
Material and Methods:
Cases presenting to our Emergency Department between August 2006 and August 2008, in whom traumatic extremity amputations were performed were prospectively studied. The data that were recorded on a study form, which included age, sex, educational level, occupation, mechanism of the trauma and hospitalization duration, underwent evaluation.
Results:
The data of 309 subjects were evaluated in this study. The mean age of the patients was 29±17.9, with 18.1% of the subjects being female and 81.9% being of male gender. 41.1% of the cases were laborers, 23.6% were self-employed in various fields, and 9.4% were farmers. With respect to the method of trauma in the majority of the amputations, industrial injuries accounted for 65.7%, finger jamming (door-related) accounted for 17.2%, and home injuries accounted for 8.7%. Finger amputation was identified in 93.4%, toe amputation in 4.4%, and “others” in 2.2%.
Conclusion:
Traumatic amputation concerns particularly children, youths, and people of low educational level with an active work life. The most frequently affected body parts are the fingers.
Keywords: Trauma, amputation, emergency medicine