What happens after a limb amputation?

| Feb 10, 2021 | Car Accidents | 0 comments

If you lost a limb after a serious motor vehicle accident, your road to recovery may be a long one. According to Healthline, in the United States, over 1 million people have a limb amputation, with the leg being the most removed limb.

In general, if you have to go through the amputation procedure, you will be in the hospital between five and 14 days. For more complex surgeries, you may be in the hospital for a longer stay.

Surgery recovery

Your recovery depends on the limb amputation, your injuries and your overall health. During the amputation procedure, the surgeon will remove all of your damaged tissue. The goal is to leave as much healthy tissue as the doctor can. After the surgery, some surgeons will close the wound promptly. In other cases, the surgeon may need to leave the wound open.

As you recover from your surgery, nurses and other hospital staff will clean your dressings every day. Doctors closely monitor the wound to ensure that nothing interferes with the healing process.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy may begin as soon as 10 days following your surgery. At first, the doctors will have you practice gentle stretching exercises. Then, you should be allowed to practice with an artificial limb. Your wound will not completely heal for another one to two months after the surgery. Once healed, recovery involves physical therapy.

Physical therapy uses exercises to help increase your control and your strength. Physical therapists may have you perform activities that can aid you in carrying out your daily tasks. If you have an artificial limb, you will learn to use it.