What is an Amputation?
An amputation is when a limb is surgically removed for a variety of reasons. Some people get amputations because of an illness that damages the tissues, or they might have been in an accident involving heavy machinery or a car accident that crushed the limb, making an amputation necessary. Additionally, it is also fairly common for people with uncontrolled diabetes to need their feet amputated because of their condition and the sores on their feet that diabetes can cause.
There are several types of amputations, and a whole limb or part of a limb might be removed. For lower body amputations, there are minor and major amputations, with major amputations usually being just above or just below the knee. There are also several places where part of a lower extremity might be amputated. For instance, part of the foot might be amputated, but the amputation might also be at the ankle or between the ankle and knee. Similarly, upper extremity amputations might be done at a joint, such as the wrist, elbow, or shoulder, but they could also be done between any two joints.
Not all people who are living without a limb have had an amputation. Some people have merely been born without a limb rather than had it surgically removed.
There are many reasons that some people might need an amputation, including vascular disease, which accounts for about 82% of amputations. And about 185,000 amputations are performed each year, with about 2 million people in the U.S. today living with an amputation.
Causes for Amputations
Illness and injury are two of the main reasons that some people need an amputation. Diabetes is one of the most common types of diseases that can cause need for an amputation. Most often, the person with diabetes who needs an amputation will need it on a foot because there are sores that quickly become worse and get infected. Nerve damage and poor circulation in people with diabetes increases the likelihood that they’ll get an infection and need an amputation.
People with diabetes are also more at risk of needing an amputation if their blood sugar levels are not under control, they smoke, they have other foot deformities, they have kidney disease, vision impairment, or high blood pressure.
Other diseases and medical conditions can cause a person to need an amputation. For instance, blood clots, blood vessel disease, and osteomyelitis also causes some people to need an amputation. Finally, some people who get cancer in the muscles or bones will need an amputation after the surgery or if the surgeon isn’t able to remove the whole tumor unless they also remove an entire part of the limb.
Some people also sustain injuries for a variety of reasons, but there are times when a limb might not be savable. For instance, injuries in war and severe accidents with heavy machinery are two ways that a person might sustain an injury that’s severe enough that a surgeon is unable to save the limb.
Treatment for Amputations
Once a person has had part of a limb amputated, they’ll need rehabilitation to make them as mobile as possible. When a person has an amputation, they’ll need to have positional training and take the time to learn exercises to create more strength in the remaining limbs so that they don’t injure themselves when they’re trying to get around. Additionally, they’ll strengthen the muscles around the residual limb so that it can have more function when the prosthesis is fitted.
A person who has an amputated limb will need to be fitted for prosthesis, and this could take several sessions. Additionally, people who have a limb amputated and need a prosthesis will have swelling, and they need to learn how to care for the swelling that occurs. Education about how to care for the area where the limb was amputated and how to reduce the risk of infection and pressure sores is also necessary. People also need to learn how to bandage and compress the residual limb to control any potential for edema.
A person with an amputated limb needs to learn how to move properly through gait training and education on how to return to independent tasks, including walking, standing, climbing stairs, and other everyday activities.
Additionally, some patients might also get family involved in parent and family education, and some people might also need to have their homes modified to make everyday tasks more simple.
When a person is going through rehabilitation, there are four types that they might need, including acute rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation, day-treatment, and vocational rehabilitation programs. Many patients go through at least a couple of these types of programs after an amputation.
