• Seán C Maguire, H M Mohan, C Fenelon, J Stow, P Nicholson, A Huang, N Ryall, S Sheehan, D Mehigan, J Dowdall, and M C Barry.
• Department of Vascular Surgery, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4, Ireland. seanmaguire@rcsi.ie.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2020 Nov 1; 189 (4): 135113581351-1358.

ObjectivesData on vascular patients following amputation in Ireland is lacking, limiting capability to plan services. This paper seeks to benchmark survival and rehabilitation outcomes among vascular patients in Ireland following lower extremity amputation (LEA), and compare subgroups of those undergoing transfemoral (TFA) or transtibial amputation (TTA).MethodsA review was conducted of all patients who underwent non-traumatic TFA or TTA from 2000 to 2009 in a tertiary vascular surgery centre. Demographics, surgical data, perioperative outcomes, medium-term functional outcomes, and survival were assessed.ResultsOne hundred and seventy-two patients (2:1 male: female) underwent 192 non-traumatic LEAs. Median age for TFA was 75 years and TTA 67 (p = 0.002). A percentage of 36.5% had undergone prior attempts at surgical revascularization, 25% had undergone prior distal amputation or debridement. Thirty-three (17%) required stump revision. Twenty-three (13.2%) died in hospital. Median survival for those who died in hospital was 17 days (0-367), versus 17 months (2-106) for those who survived to discharge.ConclusionLEA for vascular pathology has significant morbidity and mortality, with long in-patient stays and short median survival; there is need to focus on improving quality of life in postoperative pathways.

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