Fifty-nine amputees, 24 below-knee (BK), 17 through-knee (TK) and 18 above-knee (AK) who had prosthetic replacements, were evaluated using a questionnaire which provided a quantitative and qualitative assessment scale for the prosthetic function. The ability to apply or don the prosthesis was noted in 100% of the BK, 70% of the TK and 56% of the AK amputations (p < 0.001). Daily use of the prosthesis was recorded in 96% of the BK, 76% of the TK and 50% of the AK amputations (p < 0.001). A higher level of amputation resulted in a significantly lower degree of rehabilitation (p < 0.05). The qualitative evaluation shows that the higher the level of amputation, the lower the usefulness of the prosthesis. Four percent of the BK, 12% of the TK and 39% of the AK amputees had no use whatsoever of their prosthesis (p < 0.01). From a functional standpoint, TK amputation should always be considered as the primary alternative to AK amputation when a BK amputation is not feasible.

Aged↗

PubMed1991

Masses of 103,104,105In and 72,73Br.

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Journal Article↗

PubMed1984

One instead of two knives for surgical incision. Does it increase the risk of postoperative wound infection?

We evaluated the rate of postoperative wound infection following the use of one or two knives for incision. The infection rate in 277 patients who were operated on with one knife was 3.6%, in 309 patients who were operated on with two knives the rate was 5.5%. This difference was not statistically significant. The limit of a one-sided confidence interval bound from the estimated difference of infection rates in the two groups of patients was 0.94% at a confidence level of 0.95. Thus, if there was any difference at all in favor of two knives with respect to infection, it was probably less than 1%. The present results indicate that the old surgical practice of discarding the skin knife and using a separate scalpel for the deep incision can be abandoned without increasing the risk of wound infection.

Adolescent↗