The medical records of 385 amputees were studied to determine if the trends of high occurrence of death and second amputation for patients with vascular disease still exist and if so, to what degree. All the subjects experienced their first amputation between Jan. 1, 1982, and Dec. 31, 1987. Their patient charts were followed for a five- to 10-year period, as applicable, from the date of first amputation until the last entry prior to Dec. 31,1992.Multiple amputations occurred in 59 percent of the patients. Thirty-five percent of the subjects underwent a revision to the original amputation within an average of 6.5 months. Contralateral amputation was performed on 30.9 percent of the subjects. Contralateral amputation occurred an average of 24.9 months following the first amputation. Eighteen percent of all patients studied died within the time frame of this study. The average time between contralateral amputation and death was 18 months