Abstract Context: Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), diabetes, and foot osteomyelitis are at risk of minor foot amputations, which are the most common surgical procedures. Every 30 s, a limb is lost worldwide due to diabetes. However, little is known about the risk factors associated with reamputation. Aims: The aim is to estimate the prevalence of reamputation and identify its risk factors in a tertiary hospital. Settings and Designs: This retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital. Subjects and Methods: Medical records of patients admitted to our institution with a history of lower-limb reamputations between 2012 and 2022 were reviewed. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics and comparative analyses (Chi-square test and logistic regression) were employed to identify associations between clinical factors and risk of reamputation. Results: Among 432 patients with a history of foot amputation, there was a significant difference in the first toe amputation ( P < 0.05). Major reamputation was significantly more frequent in cases associated with ischemia (78%, 54.2%) or infection (39.6%, 22.9%) compared with minor reamputation. Conclusions: One-third of patients with a prior amputation underwent reamputation, with the rate of major reamputation significantly exceeding that of minor reamputation. The key risk factors were diabetes, hypertension, PAD, and ischemic heart disease. The highest risk period occurred within 90 days after the primary amputation. Major reamputation was significantly more common than minor reamputation and was associated with ischemia, whereas nonhealing wounds were relatively frequent in both minor and major foot reamputations. Patients who underwent toe amputation had a higher risk of major reamputation surgery.
Tekian et al. (Tue,) studied this question.