Many patients whose limbs are amputated in Botswana’s hospitals are not due to road traffic accidents but to smoking, a consultant surgeon at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in the city of Francistown has revealed.
Dr Celest Mbangtang said tobacco is one of the main causes of peripheral vascular diseases, which affect blood vessels outside the heart and brain. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, which constricts the blood vessels that carry blood to the legs, arms, stomach or kidneys, resulting in decreased blood flow in those parts.
“Peripheral vascular disease more commonly occurs in the legs and feet, however it can also develop in other parts of the body like the arms and hands,” Dr Mbangtang said.
The first symptom of peripheral vascular disease is that the smoker is likely to feel pain in the feet and cuff muscles. This usually includes tired legs with cramp-like pains and in some instances the legs and feet might also feel a bit numb or cold and might look pale.
As these symptoms persist, blood flow becomes severely restricted. At this stage treatment is still possible although it cannot revive dead tissue. In very severe cases of peripheral vascular diseases, where there is not enough blood supply to the feet or toes, the tissue becomes blackened and dead.
“When this occurs, the dead tissue will have to be cut from the body or it will rot endangering the smoker’s life. The cutting away of tissue often results in amputation of the limb, often the toes, sometimes the foot or part of the leg,” Dr Mbangtang said.
Dr Mbangtang noted that the only way to avoid tobacco-related peripheral vascular diseases and amputations is by stopping smoking or to never smoke at all.
He added: “Quitting smoking will reduce your risk of developing peripheral vascular diseases, but people who live with smokers are also equally affected as they are predisposed to tobacco smoke.”
In conclusion, Dr Mbangtang said early diagnosis of peripheral vascular diseases and stopping smoking could help diminish the effects of smoking on the arteries over time.
