Introduction: There are several causes for amputations of the lower limb, such as peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, trauma, etc. Vascular diseases and diabetes are predominant in developed countries, while traumatic injuries are more common in countries in development. For patients, the loss of the lower limb is a life-changing event regardless of the cause. The prosthesis should restore the ability to perform movement and improve the quality of life of the amputee. The success of prosthetic rehabilitation of persons with amputations varies depending on the cause of their occurrence. Purpose: Our diploma work aimed to compare amputations of the lower limbs caused by traumatic injuries and amputations performed as a result (progression) of diabetes. The aim was to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each amputation, which patients have better options for prosthetic rehabilitation and to compare the factors influencing the use and wearing of prostheses by. Methods: We searched for literature in English and Slovenian, using the online databases PubMed and GoogleScholar. In English, we used the keywords: (lower limb amputation OR lower limb loss) AND amputees AND prosthetic rehabilitation. In Slovene we used: Prosthetic rehabilitation after lower limb amputation. We included freely available studies published between 2010 and 2020, which included amputations of the lower limbs caused by traumatic injuries and/or diabetes. Results: Based on our criteria, we included 11 studies. In two studies, only amputations due to trauma were described. Two described, amputations due to diabetes. The other seven studies, however, described amputations of the lower limbs due to various causes. Discussion and conclusion: We have found that nowadays the frequency of lower limb amputations due to diabetes is much higher than due to traumatic injuries. People with lower limb amputations due to diabetes are in average older at the time of the occurence of amputation. That is why, they also have more diseases and less physical abilities, which negativly impact a successfull prosthetic use, compared to younger traumatic amputees. In addition to the cause of amputations, a great predictor of success is also the height of the amputation, the time of healing of the amputated stumb after surgery and the time until the start of rehabilitation. People with amputations due to trauma will have a better prognosis for successful prosthetic rehabilitation, compared to people with amputations due to diabetes. There are few studies comparing exclusively traumatic amputations and amputations performed due to diabetes, so it would be recommended to conduct more extensive research on this topic in the future.
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