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The Effect of Semirigid Dressings on Below-Knee Amputations

N MacLean, DipPT, is Part-time Joint Clinical Lecturer, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Alberta, and Physiotherapist, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Foothills Hospital, 1403-29 St NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 2T9.
GH Fick, PhD, is Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.

Background and Purpose. The effect of using semirigid dressings (SRDs) on the residual limb of individuals who have had below-knee amputations as a consequence of peripheral vascular disease was investigated, with the primary question being: Does the time to readiness for prosthetic fitting for patients treated with the SRDs differ from that of patients treated with soft dressings? Subjects. Forty patients entered the study and were alternately assigned to one of two groups. Nineteen patients were assigned to the SRD group, and 21 patients were assigned to the soft dressing group. Methods. The time from surgery to readiness for prosthetic fitting was recorded for each patient. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for each group, and the results were analyzed with the log-rank test. Results. There was a difference between the two curves, and an examination of the curves suggests that the expected time to readiness for prosthetic fitting for patients treated with the SRDs would be less than half that of patients treated with soft dressings. Conclusion and Discussion. The results suggest that a patient may be ready for prosthetic fitting sooner if treated with SRDs instead of soft dressings.

Key Words: Amputations • Prosthetic fitting • Semirigid dressing • Soft dressing

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