Amputations and Their Preventability

[Image description: A pale hand flipping a quarter off the thumb against a dark background. End description.]

I want you to flip a coin. A coin flip nearly represents the causes of limb amputation in the United States: 54% are due to vascular disease (diseases that affect the arteries and veins) and 45% are due to trauma, with the remaining 1% due to cancer. This begs the question, how many of these amputations are preventable?

In civilians, trauma-related amputations are usually the results of accidents, whether vehicular or workplace. The preventability of the accidents with specific focus on amputation is dubious. Focusing on obeying the rules of the road and strict compliance with workplace safety, and exercising good judgement would be advisable. Honing in on illness, the amount of possibly preventable amputations becomes startling. The most common cause of illness-related amputation in the United States is diabetes. Every year, about 73,000 Americans with diabetes undergo leg amputation. People with diabetes are at high risk of leg amputations because the disease can limit blood flow and damage their nerves so they lose sensation in their feet. Under these circumstances, injuries can easily go unnoticed until they become too infected to treat.   

With education and support, the rate of illness-related amputation can be reduced. Informing patients of the risks of their illnesses, and how to reduce these risks (such as closely examining their feet for injury each day, in the case of diabetic people) makes patients more well-equipped to care for their own health. This is not to say that the loss of a limb is a failure on the part of the people dealing with these illnesses, but it may represent a failure on the part of our healthcare system. Some problems are structural: the price of insulin, for example, is rising with a cost in human lives. Healthcare can be difficult to access, whether due to financial concerns or a lack of transportation. This is especially so for elderly people, who face a higher risk of vascular disease and a lack of support systems. But we as individuals and communities can do our part to help reduce the rate of illness-related amputations. If you are able to, check in on the people in your life who may be struggling with these illnesses. Can they get to and from appointments? Are they taking care of themselves? Could, for example, a carpool be organized? Could a club or group for people dealing with vascular illnesses be organized? Fundraising to help members of the community afford their medication? Having lost someone dear to me due to diabetes-related complications, I know it doesn’t have to be like this. We as individuals can only do so much, but never underestimate the power of a helping hand or a listening ear, or the power of community.