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Frequently Asked Questions: Amputation
Frequently Asked Questions: Personal Injury
Article: Amputation
According to recent estimates, there are approximately 2 million people living with limb loss in the United States. Accidents are the second leading cause of… » More …
Frequently Asked Questions
Amputation
- What is amputation?
- What causes amputation?
- What risks are involved in amputation?
- What are phantom limbs?
- What type of rehabilitation is available for amputees?
- What does a rehabilitation program consist of?
- Who makes up the rehabilitation team?
- Will I be eligible for a prosthesis?
- What risks are involved with a prosthesis?
What is amputation?
There are two types of amputation: complete and partial. A complete amputation occurs when a body part is completely severed from the rest of the body. In a partial amputation, the body part remains connected through bone, tissue, or muscle. The possibility of reattaching a limb often depends on the type of accident that caused the injury. A guillotine amputation, as the name suggests, involves a clean cut with clearly-defined boundaries. Damage to tissue, bones, nerves, and blood vessels is limited to the area where contact occurred. An avulsion amputation involves a stretching or tearing of tissue and involves significant damage to tissue, bones, nerves, and blood vessels. A crush amputation occurs when a limb is crushed in an accident that requires or results in amputation. Crush amputations cause extensive damage to the injured region.
What causes amputation?
Amputations mainly result from vascular problems, but when litigation is involved, the source of the amputation is usually an accident. These accidents are typically due to ordinary negligence, professional malpractice, infections, tumors, defective product design, or inadequate warning labels on products.
What risks are involved in amputation?
As with all major surgeries, patients run the risk of complications due to anesthesia, excessive blood loss and blood clots. Amputees also run the risk of infection, which may require a second amputation. If the stump fails to receive an adequate supply of blood, healing will be prevented. Additionally, amputees often experience phantom limbs.
What are phantom limbs?
Between 50 and 80 percent of amputees experience the phenomenon of phantom limbs. These people continue to feel sensations from the missing limb as if it were still attached. The individual may feel like the missing limb is burning, itching, aching, or moving. The sensations are often painful and bothersome but can be treated.
What type of rehabilitation is available for amputees?
The goal of rehabilitation is to help the patient return to restore the amputee's functioning and independence while improving overall quality of life. Rehabilitative efforts are focused in 3 areas: physical, emotional cognitive, and social. A rehabilitative program is designed to improve functioning in all four areas.
What does a rehabilitation program consist of?
Amputation rehabilitation programs include acute rehabilitation programs, outpatient rehabilitation programs, day-treatment programs, and vocational rehabilitation programs. These programs utilize a battery of therapies and techniques to assist the amputee restore functioning and maximize quality of life, such as: treatments to assist wound healing; exercises that improve muscle strength, muscle control, and motor skills; training with artificial limbs (prostheses); pain management; emotional support with the assistance of family and friends; nutritional counseling; vocational training; modifying one's home to assist mobility and safety, and education for both patient and family.
Who makes up the rehabilitation team?
A basic rehabilitation program consists of a plan and healthcare professionals from a variety of disciplines to implement that plan. The team may include:
- physician
- internist
- psychologist/psychiatrist
- rehabilitation nurse
- physical therapist
- orthotist
- prosthetist
- recreational therapist
- vocational counselor
- occupational therapist
- social worker
- chaplain
- case manager
Will I be eligible for a prosthesis?
You must consult with your doctor to find out if you are eligible for a prosthesis. A typical prosthesis can cost between 10 to 15 thousand dollars. In the past few years there have been significant improvement to the design of prosthetics, making them lighter, stronger, more comfortable, and even incorporating electronics.
What risks are involved with a prosthesis?
Amputees who walk with the help of a prosthesis have a less stable gait which typically causes between 3 to 5 percent of these individuals to fall and break bones. About half of these breaks can be treated, while the other half eventually requires a wheelchair to aid mobility.
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