an epidemiological and etiological report on lower extremity amputation in northwest of iran

background: lower extremity amputation has different etiologies and the purpose of the study was to describe the demographics and etiologies of amputations. this study was designed to evaluate amputations performed in the province of eastern azerbaijan (north-west of iran) and to       determine specific causes of amputations associated with geographical and cultural characteristics of the region.   methods: we have done this retrospective and descriptive study from june 1st, 2005 to june 1st, 2010 in tabriz shohada hospital (tabriz, iran). the patients were evaluated with respect to age, sex, etiology, side and level of amputations, prevalence of amputations among the sexes at different ages and surgical interventions performed. results: one-hundred-sixty files were identified with a diagnosis of lower limb amputation. trauma was the most frequent cause in 67 cases (46%), followed by vascular disease in 61 cases (42%), and then infection in 18 cases (12%). eighty percent of patients were male and 20% were female. conclusion: this investigation shows that trauma (especially due to car accidents) is the most common cause of amputations in our region, followed by vascular problems.