Most of them are diabetic. But there are ways to prevent this, and a team at Temple University Hospital is helping.
Hugh Green has his share of medical problems, including diabetes, kidney problems, he's battled cancer, and lost part of his right leg to an infection.
The Germantown man also lost the toes on his left foot when a bruise got out of control.
Green told Action News, "It didn't hurt, so i didn't pay much attention. but before i knew, it started to swell, and by that time, it was too far gone."
"I'm going to take a look at the foot, and your leg," says Dr. Eric Choi of Temple University Hospital.
Dr. Choi says, unfortunately, he sees this happen a lot.
"We're looking at close to 100-thousand americans requiring a foot or leg amputation every year," he says.
A recent study by podiatrist Dr. Ronald Renzi showed that leg amputations in Philadelphia are 4 times higher among men than in the Montgomery County, especially among African-American men.
Diabetes and diabetic ulcers lead to many amputations, as does PAD - peripheral arterial disease - which often develops in smokers.
Hugh's conditions made him ideal for Temple's new Limb Salvage Center, which Dr. Choi directs. It tries to prevent amputations, by identifying high-risk cases earlier.
At the center, patients see all their specialists and get all their tests at the same place, and often during the same appointment.
That saves time. Hugh admits scheduling difficulties led to a big delay in getting his left foot treated.
Dr. Choi is also involved in another limb-saving effort - a nationwide experiment trying to grow new vessels by using stem cells from bone marrow.
He says, "We can extract that, send it to a company that will filter that, and then re-inject it into the leg so we can see new blood vessel growth."
The results aren't out yet, but one man who suffered from PAD thinks it worked for him.
Chuck Shreckengost, who took part in the study at a medical center in Ohio, says, "Before I had the stem cell injections, I had a sore that came on my big toe, and it's pretty much all healed up now."