Physical Therapy for the Transtibial Amputee With A Removable Rigid Dressing: A Program Outline

A novel approach to wound management and prosthetic use with concurrent vacuum-assisted closure therapy

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Stump healing is critical to post amputation management. When healing is not optimal, immobility is prolonged and patients risk hospital acquired deconditioning. Two clinical cases with unhealed trans-femoral stump wounds are described. Vacuum assisted closure (VAC) dressing with concurrent prosthetic utilisation was undertaken successfully in both cases.

TECHNIQUE

Fitting of the prosthetic socket included space for VAC dressing with modifications to allow the suction piping to exit the prosthesis. With VAC application, timely rehabilitation and mobility was enabled despite incomplete wound healing.

DISCUSSION

The two clinical cases described made excellent progress. Discharge home was expedited with the provision of portable VAC pumps. Wounds healed fully without infection. Both patients were able to mobilise sooner than if they had to wait for complete wound closure and, importantly, the consequences of prolonged immobility were minimised. No extra costs were incurred using this novel therapy.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Guidance for early mobilisation of trans-femoral amputees with open wounds is limited. These cases provide examples utilising VAC dressings with concurrent prosthetic rehabilitation, facilitating prompt ambulatory retraining, minimising deconditioning and optimising outcomes.

Evolving techniques in foot and ankle amputation

Multiple clinical pathways lead to lower extremity amputation, including trauma, dysvascular disease, congenital defects, and malignancy. However, the principles of successful amputation-careful preoperative planning, coordination of a multidisciplinary team, and good surgical technique-remain the same. Organized rehabilitation and properly selected prostheses are integral components of amputee care. In the civilian setting, amputation is usually performed as a planned therapy for an unsalvageable extremity, not as an emergency procedure. The partial loss of a lower limb often represents a major change in a person's life, but patients should be encouraged to approach amputation as the beginning of a new phase of life and not as the culmination of previous treatment failures.