MANCHESTER, Jamaica — The Mandeville Regional Hospital (MRH) in Manchester has successfully carried out a complex bypass procedure that prevented the amputation of a patient’s only remaining lower limb.

According to the hospital, 72-year-old Edwin Rowe was admitted in April 2026 with chronic limb-threatening ischemia, which had progressed to gangrene in his fourth toe. This is a condition where the tissue dies due to inadequate blood supply.

The hospital said Rowe’s right leg was at high risk of amputation due to severe peripheral arterial disease, with significantly restricted blood flow linked to long-term diabetes, hypertension and a history of smoking.

“Four years earlier, Mr Rowe underwent a left below-knee amputation due to infectious complications related to diabetes. Despite this setback, he remained functional and independent. With his right leg now solely responsible for mobility and balance, it was considered his ‘precious limb’, and its loss would result in permanent wheelchair dependence,” Consultant General Surgeon Dr Varunesh Chand explained in a statement on Tuesday.

“Once admitted, a CT scan revealed severe arterial blockages involving the main artery in the thigh and continuing into the major arteries of the lower leg and foot. Only a small segment of a healthy artery below the ankle remained usable for bypass surgery. Endovascular stenting was not an option for him,” he continued.

The surgical team proceeded with an inframalleolar bypass, a specialised procedure used to redirect blood flow to the foot by bypassing severely blocked arteries. To restore circulation to the foot, a portion of the patient’s saphenous vein was harvested and then used as a bypass graft.

The hospital said post-operative scans showed more than a 50 per cent improvement in blood flow to the foot, and Mr Rowe made a smooth recovery and was later discharged.