TY - JOUR AU - Sah, Rajendra Prasad PY - 2018/12/30 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Stump healing in below knee amputations using soft versus rigid dressing JF - Journal of Patan Academy of Health Sciences JA - J Patan Acad Health Sci VL - 5 IS - 2 SE - General Section: Original Articles DO - 10.3126/jpahs.v5i2.23987 UR - https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JPAHS/article/view/23987 SP - 23-26 AB - <p><strong>Introductions: </strong>Different techniques of postsurgical dressings are used after a below-knee amputation (BKA). This study compares the application of soft dressings versus rigid dressings on healing time and hospital stay after BKA.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> In this cross sectional prospective analysis of outcome of two types of post-operative dressings after BKA during January 2012 to January 2018 at Shree Bhawani Hospital Birgunj, Nepal. Wound healing time and hospitalisation were compared between soft and rigid dressings.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: Out of 37 BKA, 20 received soft dressings with knee immobiliser and 17 rigid plaster dressings. Average age of patients in soft dressing group was 41 years (range 10-70) and in plaster dressing group 37.7 years (range 10-70). Two out of 20 (10%) with soft dressing and 13 out of 18 (76.47%) with the rigid dressing healed primarily, p &lt;0.001. Patients treated with soft dressings stayed in the hospital on an average of 35.2 days (range 22-49 days) and rigid dressings 18.4 days (range12-31 days).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The patients with rigid dressings after BKA had significantly more primary wound healings and shorter length of hospitalisation compared to soft dressing.</p> ER -