Skin Problems of the Leg Amputee

Abstract

Lower-extremity amputees, the group with which this paper is concerned, include persons who have been subjected to gross anatomic loss of the lower limbs at widely varying levels, such as partial foot amputation, below-knee and above-knee amputations, knee or hip disarticulation, and hemipelvectomy. Amputation at each level is attended by distinctive problems of functional loss, fitting and alignment of the artificial limb, or prosthesis, and medical difficulties, such as skin disorders, that are secondary to use of the limb. These amputees require the continued care of limb fitters, or prosthetists, who construct the artificial limbs on which the amputees must depend for locomotion—and indeed, to a large degree, for social and economic rehabilitation—for the rest of their lives. But the problems facing leg amputees are not wholly prosthetic. Many are clearly medical; for example, pain, circulatory problems, and skeletal changes. Many amputees also require the care of the dermatologist more