Article Sidebar
Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.
Main Article Content
The potential benefit of pre-operative assessment of amputation wound healing potential in peripheral vascular disease
Abstract
Choosing the most distal amputation level that will heal is difficult in patients with peripheral vascular disease. From 1984 to 1988,965 patients underwent 1 563 amputations for lower limb peripheral vascular disease at King Edward VIII Hospital, Durban. The primary amputation revision rate was 51% with a mortality rate of 23,1%. Random pre-operative assessment of amputation wound healing potential using a transcutaneous oxygen pressure index was investigated over the 4-year period, 1987 - 1990. This was responsible for a reduction in the amputation revision rate to 8,2% in patients tested.
