amputation - Types, Self-amputation, After-effects

The surgical removal of a part of the body because of disease or injury. The operation is carried out when the affected part has been irreparably damaged and is no longer functional, or when there is a risk of the disease (particularly infection) spreading to the rest of the body. Diabetic complications are a common reason for amputations of fingers and toes and even whole limbs. It is sometimes possible to replace the removed part with a prosthesis, such as an artificial leg.

Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma (also referred to as avulsion) or surgery. In Islamic countries, amputation of the hands or feet is sometimes used as a form of punishment for criminals.

Types

Types of amputation include:

leg amputation of digits partial foot amputation (Chopart, Lisfranc) ankle disarticulation (Syme, Pyrogoff) below-knee amputation (transtibial) knee-bearing amputation (knee disarticulation) above knee amputation (transfemoral) Van-ness rotation (Foot being turned around and reattached to allow the ankle joint to be used as a knee.) hip disarticulation hemipelvectomy arm amputation of digits metacarpal amputation wrist disarticulation forearm amputation (transradial) elbow disarticulation above-elbow amputation (transhumeral) shoulder disarticulation and forequarter amputation teeth The avulsion of some teeth (mainly incisives) is or was practiced by some cultures for ritual purposes (for instance in the Iberomaurusian culture of Neolithic North Africa).

Hemicorporectomy, or amputation at the waist, is the most radical amputation.

Genital modification and mutilation may involve amputating tissue(as the case is with circumcision), although not necessarily as a result of injury or disease.

As a rule, partial amputations are preferred to preserve joint function, but in oncological surgery, disarticulation is favored. In a disarticulation amputation, the bone is removed at the joint.

Self-amputation

In some rare cases when a person has become trapped (on account of getting a limb stuck) in a deserted place, with no means of communication or hope of rescue, the victim has amputated his own limb:

In 2003, 27-year old Aron Ralston amputated his forearm using his pocketknife and breaking and tearing the two bones, after the arm got stuck under a boulder when hiking in Utah.

Even rarer are cases where self-amputation is performed for criminal or political purposes:

It is alleged that some residents of Vernon, Florida threatened to kill documentary film maker Errol Morris, who was going to expose a bizarre scam wherein individuals would cut off their own limbs as a way to collect insurance money.

After-effects

A large proportion of amputees (50-80%) experience the phenomenon of phantom limbs; Phantom sensations and phantom pain may also occur after the removal of body parts other than the limbs, e.g. after amputation of the breast, extraction of a tooth (phantom tooth pain) or removal of an eye (phantom eye syndrome).

In many cases, the phantom limb aids in adaptation to a prosthesis, as it permits the person to experience proprioception of the prosthetic limb.

Another side-effect can be heterotopic ossification, especially when a bone injury is combined with a head injury.