Amputation is the general term describing a condition of disability resulting from the deliberate surgical removal of a part of the body, a limb, or part of a limb (Bowker & Michael, 1992). Limb loss can be a congenital condition, the result of traumatic injury, or a surgical procedure to treat disease (Clawson, 2009). Clawson posits that the majority of amputations in the United States are the result of vascular disease caused by diabetes (p. 393). In cases of traumatic amputation, adjustment and adaptation is more difficult than for people who have had time to prepare, such as may occur with diabetes. Amputations may be performed at any level in the upper extremities such as the digits, the hand, or the arm, or in the lower extremities such as the toes, the foot, or the leg. Amputation is an emotional, life-altering occurrence that most often results from either disease or trauma (Hanley et al., 2004). Appropriate rehabilitation is a vital element to helping people with lower limb amputation learn to walk and function again and live high quality lives.
Literature Review
In the United States, the majority of amputations are performed in order to treat complications of peripheral vascular disease; the greater numbers involve the lower limbs (Clawson, 2009). According to Bowker and Michael (1992), disease is the most frequent reason for amputation in adults age 50 or older, while trauma is the usual cause of amputation in younger individuals. Marshall and Stansby (2008) include malignant tumor, uncontrollable acute or chronic infection, congenital deformity, ‘useless’ limb (usually due to neurological injury) and chronic pain as other common reasons for amputation (p.21). Amputation can be either major (majority of the limb removed...
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...2010). Amputation. In J. Stone & M. Bloouin (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. Retrieved from http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/251/
Marshall, C., & Stansby, G. (2008). Amputation. Surgery,26(1), 21-24. doi: 10.1016/j.mpsur.2007.10.011
Murray, C. D. (2009). Amputation, prosthesis use, and phantom limb pain an interdisciplinary perspective. New York: Springer.
Saradjian, A., Thompson, R. A., & Dipak, D. (2008). The experience of men using an upper limb prosthesis following amputation: Positive coping and minimizing feeling different. Journal of Disability and Rehabilitation, 30(11), 871-883. doi: 10.1080/09638280701427386
Yetzer, E. A., Kauffman, G., Sopp, F., & Tally, L. (1994). Development of a patient education program for new amputees. Rehabilitation Nursing, 19, 163-168. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7855404
Resection was a process that “involved cutting open the limb, sawing out the damaged bone, and then closing the incision” (Jones, 1). Resection allows the patient to keep his limbs but it requires a great ordeal of time and skill. This also contributed to the common practice of amputation during the war. But there were cases where surgeons did use this method. Terry J. Jones said in his NY Times article, “resections were used more frequently after surgeons learned that amputations had a much higher mortality rate” (Jones, 1). In another article by Corydon Ireland, it describes Mitchell Adam’s, a Harvard lecturer, grandfather who served as a volunteer surgeon during the Civil War. In the article, “Adams was not a champion of hasty amputations, but argued for excision and other limb-saving measures. And he describes the everyday pressures of a country practice in Framingham, Mass” (Ireland, 1). This meant that not all surgeons at the time only wanted to amputate but strived for alternate methods. This new knowledge shows that some surgeons were more dedicated to thinking about the well-being of their patients than others and this opens up to other possibilities that may have occurred during the war. This allows an image to come to mind of a surgeon diligently operating on a soldier with care and compassion. However, even though there may be many possibilities, we can’t truly know every event that occurs during a
Many amputees suffer from phantom limb, and phantom pain. Phantom limb can be described as the sensation of still having a certain body part and is moving accordingly (e.g. arm or leg) after the extremity has been amputated. People who experience phantom limb usually experience phantom pain, which is when the nerves at the end of amputated area cause pain or when a phantom limb seems stuck in an awkward or painful position. Ramachandran is a leading researcher in the field of phantom pain, and has done much research on mirror therapy and mirror neurons. On the other had Raffin shows research on phantom pain as well but in relation to motor imagery. Mirror therapy and motor imagery have both proven to be affective, and both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Dr. Ramachandran also sees patients with phantom-limb syndrome. Derek and James both have had their arms amputated. In Derek’s case, when he would shave the left side of his cheek, he would feel a tingling pain in his phantom limb. Dr. Ramachandran concluded that the body is mapped out on the brain. This mapping occurs in our infancy, so in the case of an amputation in adulthood part of the brain is still designated to receive input from the specific part of the body. Derek’s brain is no longer receiving input from his missing limb, and the brain is “hungry” for this input, so its neighboring receptor, the one for the face that is still receiving input, has invaded the space allocated for the missing hand. When...
ReMotion is a project created by D-Rev (Design Revolution), a not for profit organization working in third world countries, which creates and supplies prosthetic knees to amputees living on under $4 a day (Krista Donaldson, 2013). One of the company’s major constraints when designing the knee revolved around creating a product that performed at a standard equivalent to the high end prosthetic knees, but at a cost that was affordable and allowed for mass production. The project has been running since 2009 (Krista Donaldson, 2013) and over five and a half thousand amputees have since been fitted with the ReMotion knee, with the third version being made publicly available mid 2014 (‘A Cheap Prosthetic Knee For The Developing World, Designed From Patient Feedback’, n.d.)
1.) Mr. Ames is a 67-year-old man who recently had his right leg amputated just below the knee following a serious infection. Mr. Ames suffers from a number of comorbidities that make his treatment extremely complex. During his time in the hospital Mr. Ames did not follow medical advice and opted into an amputation that was much lower on his leg than the medical team advice. After a 10-day recovery in the hospital, Mr. Ames was transferred to a rehabilitation center for further health improvement. His ultimate treatment goal is to be able to stay at home while his wife continues to work nights, and to be able to perform necessary ADLs. He hopes to not add any additional burdens to his wife’s life. The treatment team at the rehabilitation
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to have one or more of your limbs amputated? A prosthetic "replaces a body part lost as the result of injury, disease, or a birth defect" (Childress). Prosthetics have been used for more than 2,000 years. The most developments happened during World War II. Wars are the places where most casualties such as limb loss occur the most(Prosthetics). The main causes of limb loss of the people that are currently living is 45% from trauma, 53% from vascular disease, and less and 2% from cancer (view graph on next page). Vascular disease includes diabetes and peripheral arterial disease (Limb Loss Statistics). There are many steps taken to prepare a patient for a prosthetic limb. The first step is amputation.
Everyone goes through hard times, but those who choose to bounce back and face their challenges head on will achieve greatness. This is exactly what double amputee, Spencer West, did. Spencer West is an amazing man who lost both his legs due to a genetic disease that caused severe spinal deformation. At the tender age of 5, the lower half of his body was amputated just below the pelvis. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, Spencer West decided to use his story to inspire others. Now, Spencer flies’ through life like a superhero, bringing smiles to many faces. Although it may not be a smooth flight the whole way, with his incredible perseverance, happiness through service work, and sense of self worth, Spencer West continues to redefine what
An amputation is classified as a surgical operation involving the removal of at least one limb of a person’s body (Amputation, 2017, p. 1). Although the first ever recorded amputation happened thousands of years ago; practice, detrimental adjustments and the advancement of medicine has successfully made amputations more safe, common and effective in hospitals around the world. From wooden legs to bionic arms, prosthetic limbs have been improving rapidly for centuries. Biomedically engineered prosthetic limbs have come especially far, connecting wires to nerves and muscles that allow an artificial limb to move in ways only an ordinary limb has ever been able to move, making them the best option for most amputees.
Our local Colorado Orthotics and Prosthetics Service’s say “Prosthetic devices also offer a better quality of life for those who have had an amputation, and that there are replacement hands that can grasp items and allow patients to perform everyday tasks with greater ease.” They also assert that, “Artificial legs can help patients walk again without the use of a wheelchair.” Any prosthetic can help a patient live fuller and a more productive life than they might otherwise experience, but with every pro there is a con.
Imagine being disabled because you were in an accident and had to have a limb amputated. Your life would change drastically because you would be missing an arm or a leg that you had all your life. You would have to change your way of life because you wouldn’t be able to do the activities you did because they would because much more difficult. You would have to settle for a prosthetic limb that is made out of some dense metal that doesn’t move easily and that won’t break easily but it will make you stand out.
I can’t put into words the feeling I got when our family’s close friend, Mike Kyte, who had lost his arm. I don’t know how one would be able to continue their regular lives, without a limb that he used to use every day of his life. Even after he got back from the hospital, I remember Mike telling me that his arm still hurt. And that sometimes he could feel his fingers in that arm. Of course I thought he was just joking with me, but he keep telling me this time after time. After learning that he was sincere about the pain, I started to get confused. At first, I thought that the pains where just in his head, I mean, how could one have pain in something that no longer even exists? So I researched his condition and I found out that there was a name for what he was experiencing: it was called Phantom Pains.
to that of a fifty-year old woman. Her condition was so severe that her entire foot was amputated and even this
Therapists gave much attention to functional outcomes for normal tasks. Activities of daily living (ADLs) were very important goals for amputee patients so that they could have as much control over their lives and independence as possible (Dillingham, T. R. (2002). . This had a profound effect on their mental healing as well as physical. The Fitzsimons General Hospital even had an unusual therapeutic intervention where the amputee patients would participate in skiing. Using special assistive equipment, over 100 amputee soldiers were able to ski (Dillingham, T. R. (2002) . This opened a door that not only grew the patients’ confidence but encouraged them to continue to push beyond their perceived boundaries and participate in aquatic and other leisure activities. This program dedicated treatment to more than just the physical healing, and focused on patient healing as a whole (Dillingham, T. R.
Initially, I was in a state of utter dismay upon learning that someone had completed an amputation on themselves. However, as I read further into the book I began to understand how far humans will truly go when in moribund circumstances in order to keep themselves alive. Ralston had the idea of cutting his arm off on only the second day, but was unable to even stomach the idea of it, “I remembered how the sight of the metal blade against my wrist repelled my hand and left my stomach heaving” (164). By the third day Aron was desperate, running out of hope and supplies. This was when he attempted an amputation for the first time, but could only just scratch the surface of his skin before deciding the knife was much too dull to cut through bone.
Now, skip to the early sixteenth century where we learned about doctor Ambroise Paré who made significant advances in the field of prosthetics and in amputation surgery. He first introduced a hinged prosthetic hand and a leg with a locking knee joint. Then, around the