1. All traceable Syme amputees attending the Edinburgh limb centre have been seen and reviewed. They number sixty-seven. Forty had amputations twenty-five or more years before.

2. There are seventy-one surviving stumps. One has failed.

3. Records of all the below-knee amputees reveal five further failures of Syme stumps. The causes of failure are discussed.

4. Problems in the Syme stump are rare after the first year. The early difficulties are discussed.

5. We conclude that a patient with Syme's amputation can expect his stump to give a lifetime of service.