2020
In some cases of severe injury or illness, it may be necessary for doctors to make the decision to amputate a patient's leg below the knee. While losing a leg can be an emotional and stressful process, most people are able to make a full recovery. After recovering from surgery, many people who have undergone a leg amputation make the decision to get a prosthetic leg. A quality prosthetic leg can help a patient regain their ability to move freely.
Maybe you've been dealing with arthritis or hip degeneration for years, but you've been able to manage it with conservative therapies. Your doctor has probably told you that hip replacement is in your future, but they haven't really told you when you'll need a hip replacement. That's because the answer is variable. What you should be doing is looking out for these signs that your condition has reached the point where a hip replacement is your best option.
If your broken bone does not heal right, then you may suffer from malunion issues. In some cases, a poorly healed bone can cause serious deformity, pain, and malfunction. Most otherwise healthy people can prevent malunions. Even if you already have a malunion, it doesn't mean that you have to live with it. Here is more information about the problems an improperly healed bone can cause and how an orthopedic surgeon can help.
Whether you have lost a limb due to an injury or an illness, the result will be the same. You will need to decide if you would like to have an artificial limb replace your arm or leg. If you've found yourself in the position of needing to decide whether you want an artificial limb, then you'll likely find this article helpful, as it covers some of the more commonly asked questions that people seem to have about a prosthesis.
