Landmine amputees referred to the Royal Medical Services-Jordan.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the epidemiology of landmine amputees at the Royal Medical Services (RMS) in Jordan.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of patients with amputation due to landmine explosions seen in the prosthetics-orthotics clinic at the RMS in Jordan between January 1988 and January 2000. The records of all patients injured through landmine explosions were available for study.

RESULTS

During the 12-year study period, 226 patients with 241 amputations were seen in the clinic. Of these 212 (94%) were male, and 14 (6%) were female. Military personnel comprised 68.6% of the total. The majority of amputations involved the lower limbs, and the most frequent level was trans-tibial. Most of the patients were injured in the 1970s and 1990s. The majority of the patients were young, and 10% of the patients were children.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of amputations from landmine injuries in Jordan is considerable, and places a significant burden on the health care system.