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ANP Productions | Source: ANP
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Many more amputations are still performed than before the corona crisis, says chairman of the Dutch Orthopedic Association Sjoerd Bulstra. The reason for this is the delayed care during the pandemic.
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Last year, three times as many amputations were performed in the Netherlands as in 2019, so before Covid-19. Bulstra learns from fellow orthopedists that the number of amputations is still high this year. “I hear the same stories from all over the country: someone used to do an amputation every now and then, now every week.”
Patients are mainly people with diabetes, who come to the hospital with deeply inflamed wounds on their feet. They were not treated in time. This is because they did not report to the GP during the pandemic, because the specialized outpatient clinics were not open, or because there are still waiting lists for such care. “People with diabetes are more likely to get wounds,” explains Bulstra, emeritus professor of orthopedics at the UMCG in Groningen. “In addition, they can often suffer from neuropathy: numbness in the nerve endings, so that they do not feel wounds. These people are monitored in specialized outpatient clinics. Wounds are treated in time or special footwear is fitted to prevent wound formation.”
Serious decline
If all this is not done in time, a wound can get out of hand, resulting in amputation in the worst case. “The wounds that orthopedists and vascular surgeons encounter at the diabetes and foot outpatient clinics are much worse and more advanced than before the corona crisis. We will undoubtedly see that reflected in the official figures for 2021.”
An amputation represents a “serious decline” in the patient’s quality of life, Bulstra said. “A prosthesis is restrictive, so people walk less and their condition deteriorates. They can also lose their independence. This is all very detrimental to their overall health.”
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