As experts in lower extremity amputation care, our multidisciplinary team handles complex lower limb amputation procedures, including:
- Foot and ankle amputation: A surgery to remove the foot at the ankle joint.
- Below-the-knee amputation (BKA): A procedure that removes the leg below the knee joint.
- Above-the-knee amputation (AKA): A surgery to remove the leg starting above the knee.
- Hip disarticulation: An amputation of the leg below the hip joint.
- Van Nes rotationplasty: A procedure, often done in children, to remove the bottom of the upper thigh bone or femur, the knee, and the top of the shin bone or tibia. The lower leg is then rotated and reattached to the femur so the foot can operate as a knee.
We want you to get back to your daily activities after a lower extremity amputation. That includes physical therapy to improve your function and mobility, and prosthetics support to ensure a proper, natural fit.
Who May Need a Lower Limb Amputation Procedure?
While most patients coming to our total limb care experts have already had amputations, our team provides amputations for people with certain conditions who may need amputation for the first time or who have tried limb salvage in the past.
Patients might come to our team for amputation care following:
- Cancer treatment
- Congenital disabilities
- Infection
- Peripheral vascular disease (including from diabetes)
- Trauma
We have surgeons skilled in both limb salvage and amputation who can provide a personalized approach for your care journey.
What to Expect
We perform amputation surgeries using leading-edge techniques. We also provide long-term care to support ongoing care needs after amputation for our patients and patients who come to our team after their amputation procedure.
About the Lower Limb Amputation Procedure
Before your procedure, we can connect you with psychosocial support, such as groups, to help you manage the emotions of considering or coping with an amputation. You’ll also meet with your orthopedic and plastic surgeons together to discuss the procedure, including the site of the amputation, expected recovery, and rehabilitation plan. Many patients also have a lot of questions about prosthetics. So, our team connects them with a prosthetist early on to coordinate care, including getting fitted for the prosthesis.
During your surgery, you will receive general anesthesia (to put you in a sleep-like state). Your orthopedic surgeon will remove part or all of your limb while keeping as much healthy tissue as possible. Your plastic surgeon will then shape the stump to provide the best fit for your prosthetic.
What is Targeted Muscle Reinnervation?
Your physician may also perform targeted muscle reinnervation, a procedure that revives nerve function and help alleviate some of the post-amputation pain levels and could help control you control your prosthetic limb.
Following your procedure, you’ll meet with your physical medicine and rehabilitation physician on a pain management plan. This plan might include multimodal medication, combining different types of medication to support pain management, as well as physical therapy. You’ll also meet with your prosthetist at the clinic, who will walk you through the next steps of recovery. Finally, your care team will work with you on wheelchair fittings for use during your recovery.
Long-term Care After Your Amputation
Your care doesn’t stop after you’ve recovered from your amputation surgery. Many patients come to our team years after their amputation for continuing care, including pain management, prosthesis checks, physical therapy, and psychosocial support. Patients can also participate in community support groups with other amputees.
Why Choose UHealth?
All-inclusive care for amputee and limb salvage needs in one location. Physicians at the University of Miami Health System support patients through their amputation and decades after, with pain management, psychosocial support, physical therapy, and more. The team provides this care in a convenient location so patients can see their providers together.
Leading-edge treatments for all amputees. The team brings state-of-the-art techniques that aren’t offered at all medical centers, including targeted muscle reinnervation. If patients are candidates, our team members can perform osseointegration, during which a prosthetic implant is implanted directly into the bone. This surgery gives better mechanics, control, donning, and removal of the prosthetic.
A multidisciplinary team of innovators. Our team includes leading orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians, psychologists, therapists, and social workers. We also collaborate closely with prosthetists throughout South Florida. This team of experts provides high-quality care for every aspect of your amputation.
World-class care in an academic health center. As a research and teaching institution, we treat children and adults with proven, advanced procedures based on clinical studies performed at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Our doctors, residents, nurses, and therapists work together to create healthy outcomes.
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