Racial disparities in amputations and OBLs

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The Black American Amputation Epidemic

Black patients were losing limbs at triple the rate of others. The doctor put up billboards in the Mississippi Delta. Amputation Prevention Institute, they read. He could save their limbs, if it wasn’t too late.

features.propublica.org

Interesting article about amputations and racial disparities

The cardiologist featured in the story is the most interesting. He is described heroically. I like the part about how he hired away hospital staff and convinced the hospitalist to discharge a patient to his OBL for an angiogram, on MLK day no less. Not sure what happened to the rotting toe after the angiogram, maybe he got admitted back to the hospital. Reporter didn't seem to have any problem with that or care about the obvious financial incentives. She did make a note about how there is a financial incentive to amputations and disincentive to work them up before an amputation. Talk about missing the forest for the trees.

 

[Jolie South]

Ugh I hate this article. Like umm endo can’t fix everything. What does he do with the patients after the angio? How does he follow them?

There are people that can amp, do endo and open limb salvage: they are called vascular surgeons.

 

[LucidSplash]

Ugh I hate this article. Like umm endo can’t fix everything. What does he do with the patients after the angio? How does he follow them?

There are people that can amp, do endo and open limb salvage: they are called vascular surgeons.

While I agree with you on principle, I think the point of the article is there’s a dearth of people who can take care of this kind of thing in the Mississippi Delta. I can’t argue with the stats why give for decreased amps etc since he set up shop there.

Seems like a great opportunity for a vascular surgeon to start a practice there instead of patients needing to go hundreds of miles to a large city. There are just too few of us in the field to spread around, likely it would need to be someone from that area.