Preserving the lower limbs

ABSTRACT

Preservation in medicine is seen against a background of loss. Loss of the lower limbs in Barbados and the Caribbean is at present a major health problem, which is made worse by the lack of good rehabilitative for those who suffer from this disability. The problem is illustrated in Barbados by the fact that there are some 126 amputations of lower limbs each year sixty percent are in diabetics. The underlying diseases which threaten the loss of lower limbs are diabetes and occlusive atherosclerosis. The combination of the two is particularly difficult. The precipitating factors which put vulnerable limbs at risk can be categorised as trauma and infection