Investigation of body image and traumatic stress symptoms of individuals who had amputation due to diabetic foot

Amputation is a condition that is primarily physical, but also affects the individual psychologically. Diabetes, circulatory disorders, infections and traumas are among the causes of amputation. It is known that the body perceptions and traumatic stress symptoms of individuals who have undergone amputation due to diabetic foot differ in terms of some variables compared to individuals who have undergone amputation due to traumatic reasons. For this reason, the aim of the study was to examine body image and traumatic stress symptoms in individuals who had amputation due to diabetic foot. The sample of the study consisted of 98 individuals who underwent amputation at Çukurova University Medical Faculty Balcalı Hospital between September-2019 and March-2020. "Sociodemographic Data Form" was used for descriptive characteristics of individuals, "Traumatic Stress Symptoms Scale" was used to evaluate traumatic stress symptoms, and "Body Perception Scale" was used to evaluate body perceptions. According to the results of our study, it was determined that the average age of individuals who had undergone amputation due to chronic disease was higher than the average age of individuals who had undergone amputation due to traumatic reasons, 72.1% of those in the study group had major amputations, while this number was 26.7% in the comparison group. It has been determined that the body perceptions of individuals who have had an amputation due to chronic disease are more negative than those who have had a traumatic amputation, and that the traumatic stress symptoms of individuals who have had an amputation due to trauma are higher than those who have had an amputation due to diabetic foot. We believe that rehabilitation and psychiatric support to be applied to patients after amputation will reduce the impact of the loss of the person and increase the quality of life and functional capacity of the society. Keywords: Amputation, body image, diabetic foot, rehabilitation, trauma