Picture of Henry Dotstry, an African American man who received an unwanted amputation due to diabetes. [Image: Presser, 2020]
Picture of Luvenia Stokes, an African American woman who received an unwanted amputation to treat her vascular disease [Presser, 2020]
Picture of Henry Dotstry, an African American man who received an unwanted amputation due to diabetes. [Image: Presser, 2020]
AMPUTATIONS ON AFRICAN AMERICANS
Amputations are currently conducted in the United States as a form of last-resort medical treatment, and revascularization is usually considered before this is an option. Amputation procedures grew by 50% between 2009 and 2015 and revascularization on black persons was significantly lower when compared to white individuals. As a result, African Americans are currently three times more likely to get amputations when compared to non-black persons. 185,000 amputations are performed each year.
When speaking of consent during these operations, it is common for black amputees to receive this procedure by medical staff without their approval if a doctor believes it is the only way to save their life – this occurs more often in black, diabetic women. Victims have described going to the hospital for minor checkups only to wake up with a missing limb, which they feel and believe is an act of medical misconduct based on hate and a deficit of knowledge. The rate of amputation on black people is currently 95 per 10,000, and the rate of amputations on white people is 55 per 10,000.
These procedures are usually conducted on persons who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and neighborhoods that are underinsured, which as of 2021, the people living in the highest rate of poverty are black people with a rate of 19.5%. This is essential to note because if poverty is most common among black people, that puts them at a three times higher risk of amputation and lower rate of revascularization.
References:
Holman, K. H., Henke, P. K., Dimick, J. B., & Birkmeyer, J. D. (2011). Racial disparities in the use of revascularization before leg amputation in Medicare patients. Journal of vascular surgery, 54(2), 420–426.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2011.02.035
Lefebvre, K. M., & Lavery, L. A. (2011). Disparities in amputations in minorities. Clinical orthopaedics and related research, 469(7), 1941–1950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-011-1842-x
Presser, L. (2020). The Black American amputation epidemic. ProPublica. https://features.propublica.org/diabetes-amputations/black-american-amputation-epidemic/