Everything about Amputation
Medical procedure that removes a part of the body
Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventive surgery for such problems. A special case is that of congenital amputation, a congenital disorder, where fetal limbs have been cut off by constrictive bands. In some countries, judicial amputation is currently used to punish people who commit crimes. Amputation has also been used as a tactic in war and acts of terrorism; it may also occur as a war injury. In some cultures and religions, minor amputations or mutilations are considered a ritual accomplishment. When done by a person, the person executing the amputation is an amputator. The oldest evidence of this practice comes from a skeleton found buried in Liang Tebo cave, East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo dating back to at least 31,000 years ago, where it was done when the amputee was a young child. A prosthesis or a bioelectric replantation may restore sensation of the amputated limb. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: AmputationA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: The global burden of traumatic amputation in 204 countries and territoriesInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Skeleton crewThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Phantom-limb pain as a perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization following arm amputationCited 1,509 times
- Go sideways: ProsthesisA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Limb-sparing techniquesA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun surgical removal of all or part of a limb, etc.
Noun the loss of a limb, etc. through trauma
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Phantom-limb pain as a perceptual correlate of cortical reorganization following arm amputation
Pathways to Diabetic Limb Amputation: Basis for Prevention
Somatosensory cortical map changes following digit amputation in adult monkeys
Validation of a Diabetic Wound Classification System: The contribution of depth, infection, and ischemia to risk of amputation
An Analysis of Outcomes of Reconstruction or Amputation after Leg-Threatening Injuries
Negative pressure wound therapy after partial diabetic foot amputation: a multicentre, randomised controlled trial
Review of secondary physical conditions associated with lower-limb amputation and long-term prosthesis use
Objective Criteria Accurately Predict Amputation following Lower Extremity Trauma
🆕 Influential since 2022
The global burden of traumatic amputation in 204 countries and territories
Continuous neural control of a bionic limb restores biomimetic gait after amputation
Risk of Foot Ulcer and Lower-Extremity Amputation Among Participants in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications Study
Association of Race, Ethnicity, and Rurality With Major Leg Amputation or Death Among Medicare Beneficiaries Hospitalized With Diabetic Foot Ulcers
The incidence of lower extremity amputation and its associated risk factors in patients with diabetic foot ulcers: A meta‐analysis
📚 Books worth reading
Skeleton crewStephen King · 1985
Full Dark, No StarsStephen King · 2010
The Time Traveler's WifeAudrey Niffenegger · 2003
Amputations and artificial limbsWilliam Robert Grossmith · 1857
The bite of the mangoMariatu Kamara · 2008- 📕Rehabilitation of the lower limb amputeeW. Humm · 1965
Excision of the knee jointGeorge Edgeworth Fenwick · 1883
Atlas of vascular surgeryFalls B. Hershey · 1963
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (pl.: prostheses; from Ancient Greek: πρόσθεσις, romanized: prósthesis, lit. 'addition, application, attachment'), or a prosthetic…
- Limb-sparing techniques Limb-sparing techniques, also known as limb-saving or limb-salvage surgery, are performed in order to preserve the appearance and function of limbs. Limb-sparin…
- Hemicorporectomy Hemicorporectomy is a radical surgery in which the body below the waist is amputated, transecting the lumbar spine. This removes the legs, the genitalia…
- Rotationplasty Rotationplasty, commonly known as a Van Nes rotation or Borggreve rotation, is a type of autograft wherein a portion of a limb is removed, while the remaining…
- Gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain…
- Gait deviations Gait deviations are nominally referred to as any variation of standard human gait, typically manifesting as a coping mechanism in response to an anatomical…
- Limb telescoping Limb telescoping is the progressive shortening of a phantom limb as the cortical regions are reorganized following an amputation. During this reorganization…
- Blunt trauma A blunt trauma, also known as a blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is a physical trauma due to a forceful impact without penetration of the…