SALINE COUNTY, Ark. (KTHV) - A Hot Springs woman has been through three different amputations on the same leg and one doctor in Saline County said none of them were even necessary.
61-year-old Corina Wilson has been through a toe amputation, a partial foot amputation and a below-the-knee amputation, but all of it could've been avoided.
Dr. Lonnie Harrison at Saline Memorial Hospital was asked to see Wilson because her surgeon wanted to do another amputation above the knee. He said the majority of amputations don't need to be done and said Wilson is a prime example of that.
“She had a blocked artery and it was quite easy to open and it only took us thirty minutes to reestablish blood flow to her stump,” he said.
Dr. Harrison said he wants to bring awareness to doctors across the Nation that there are alternatives to amputation.
“If someone will check a blood pressure and if there's no blood pressure, pulse or circulation, get them to someone that can establish circulation and heal the wound,” he said.
He said after an amputation there's only a 50 percent chance of survival for two years and after four years, a 20 percent chance.
“Our success rate in the five years of patients that have been scheduled for amputations, we've been able to prevent amputation in 91 percent of those patients,” he said.
As for Wilson, she suggests everyone get a second opinion because if she would have, she could still have her leg.
“It's hard to get around and do what I used to do and I don't wish this to happen to anyone else,” Wilson said.
There are different alternatives to amputation such as; a wound care center, podiatry for reconstruction, an orthopedic surgeon, IV antibiotics and even something like hyperbaric oxygen for bone infection.