This document provides an overview of amputations, including:
- Indications for amputations include poor circulation, injury, infection, and tumors. The most common indication is poor circulation from conditions like diabetes or peripheral artery disease.
- Types of amputations include closed amputations where flaps are closed primarily and open amputations where flaps are not primarily closed. Levels of amputation depend on the condition and location of the injury or disease.
- Basic principles of amputation include using anesthesia, a tourniquet, fashioning adequate skin flaps, sectioning muscles and blood vessels, protecting cut nerve endings, and postoperative rehabilitation. Complications can include hematoma, infection, necrosis, contractures and phantom limb