Prevalence and aetiology of amputation in Kolkata, India: A retrospective analysis

Abstract This study is an epidemiological report of the medical records of amputees in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. This retrospective study included 155 amputees who had undergone an amputee physiotherapy rehabilitation program and prosthetic training at the National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped in Kolkata, West Bengal, from January 2008 to January 2010. The paper reports on the prevalence, aetiology, and levels of amputation. The causes of amputation classified under vascular diseases, trauma, and carcinoma are discussed. The most common cause of amputation was trauma (70.3%), the second most common cause being peripheral vascular disease. Lower limb amputation, more common than amputation at the upper limb, accounted for 94.8% of all amputations.