Rigid Dressings for Lower Limb Amputees: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Purpose of ReviewTo systematically investigate the efficacy and safety of rigid dressings for postoperative management in lower limb amputees.Recent FindingsThere has been ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of various postoperative management methods, including rigid and soft dressing, for individuals with lower limb amputations. Previous meta-analyses focused on specific outcomes and included only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs. This study adds non-randomized studies of intervention (NRSI) to supplement existing evidence and provides a comprehensive analysis of efficacy and adverse events outcomes.The significant results that favor the use of the rigid dressings included a reduction in the time to wound healing, time to prosthetic fitting, stump volume, and post-operative pain, as well as a lower incidence of adverse events of revision and joint contracture. However, caution is needed in interpreting these results due to the high risk of bias among the included studies.