Residual limb length

Residual limb length

Ian Gregson

7/14/1999

Fellow OandP'ers:

A few weeks back a driver of a stalled vehicle became an immediate BK
here in Vancouver.

Just the other day I was having a conversation with one of my
co-workers who has a friend who works as an intern in the EMG dept
where this fellow was taken after his accident.

My co-worker (who knows nothing about amputees apart from knowing me)
mentioned that her intern friend was present in the EMG when this
person was brought in. He ended up losing the other leg AK a few days
later due to the severity of the injury.

According to the intern the surgeon performed a long AK level surgery
as opposed to a through knee surgery because this was easier for the
prosthetist to fit.

I know through joint amputations are more difficult to fit, but they
are not impossible. In fact I was quite appalled to hear that a
surgeon had lopped off a few extra inches for the convenient fit of a
higher level amputation.

Given there were no other mitigating factors, is this a common
practice amongst surgeons? Is there a general consensus amongst
surgeons that lopping off a few inches is ok for the sake of easier
work for the prosthetist?

Thanks
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Ian Gregson ( <Email Address Redacted> )
Amputee WEB Site <> AMPUTATION Online Magazine
<URL Redacted>
Moderator Amputee & D-Sport Listservs
icq # 27356900
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