Complications of methods of fracture treatment used by traditional healers: a report of three cases necessitating amputation at Ihiala, Nigeria.

Three fracture cases treated by immobilization with bamboo sticks by traditional bone setters ended up with amputation in a rural hospital, two for gangrene and the third for diaphyseal sequestration. Venous occlusion, followed by interruption of arterial blood supply and immobilization in a dependent position are responsible for the gangrene. Overwhelming sepsis accounted for diaphyseal sequestration in the third patient. These cases illustrate the need for more emphasis to be placed on primary surgical care, centred on rural hospitals, in the developing world.