Experiencing Life After Limb Loss

Written by one of the top prosthetic physical therapists in the nation, Life After Limb Loss is a practical guide for anyone dealing with a recent amputation

This book is for someone who is about to have amputation surgery or has had an amputation surgery and wants to know what to expect. The book will also help friends and family understand what their loved one is going through after an amputation. The book covers both arm (upper extremity) and leg (lower extremity) amputations. It covers topics including the different types of surgeries, what to expect after surgery, how to prepare for a prosthesis and what prostheses look like. The book also goes beyond this and talks about sexuality after surgery, driving, recreation and other topics to help you move beyond the surgery and into life.

Limb loss can occur due to trauma, infection, diabetes, vascular disease, cancer, and other diseases. Regardless of the cause, it often has a profound impact on a person's life. Many amputees experience feelings of loss and grief, frustration in learning to walk with an artificial limb, and difficulty adjusting to a new and challenging lifestyle. This book provides the practical knowledge needed to cope with the many changes caused by lower limb amputation. In clear, accessible language, it covers the medical, physical, and psychosocial issues and answers crucial questions such as: How do I cope emotionally with the loss of a limb? What steps can I take to prevent additional amputations? How do I treat and care for my post-surgery wound? What are the best prostheses for my particular needs? Can I play sports and exercise with a prosthesis? And much more! This unique resource aims to educate those with lower limb amputation so that they can better care for themselves and maximize their independence. The practical advice, tips, and extensive references within its pages will help individuals meet the challenges of leading full and fruitful lives.

Amputations are global and hundred of thousands happen every single day. Unfortunately, what happens after an amputation and how a person adjusts to their new life as an amputee is still quite a mystery. Limb Loss Life tells the hard truth about living as a new amputee. This book is a no-holds-barred non-sugar coated depiction of real life and how to live it as a limb loss person. The book gives an eye-opening view directly from a person who is living with limb loss, the information is direct, straightforward and down to the nitty gritty on what you need to know to live a healthy, and bountiful life as an amputee. This is the sole reason for this book. If you feel you would like to have the advice and wisdom from someone going through exactly what you are then get ready to join countless others on learning about the journey during your season of amputation. Experience the best and learn about the worse case scenarios with your limb loss. Limb Loss Life will shed much-needed light and help you through the dark forest to reach a bigger and brighter day as a new amputee.

"With clarity, wit and an accessible style, limb salvage specialist Dee Malchow (herself a high-functioning lower extremity amputee) provides a "how-to" guide for patients (and their families) confronted by the possibility -- or the established fact -- of limb loss. As an amputation surgeon myself for the past 40 years, how I wish I had had available this handbook to help educate, calm, reassure and (believe it or not) even amuse my amputation patients! Kudos to Dee Malchow for providing absolutely essential insight into this terribly fraught clinical scenario." Kaj Johansen MD, PhD, FACS, Chief of Vascular Surgery at Swedish Medical Center, Seattle Losing a limb will impact every aspect of a persons' life. This book describes the emotional process that a person experiences in adjusting to limb loss. It's based on the author's own story and professional experience yet includes input for many others living with an amputation. A person's attitude and behavior will either promote or impede progress. An amputation can feel like a disaster or a nuisance. Most days it feels somewhere in between. Dee Malchow, MN, RN, is an amputation nurse specialist. She experienced a right below knee amputation at age 19 from a boating accident. She received her Bachelor of Science and Masters Degree in Nursing from the University of Washington. Over the past 50 years Dee has interacted with over 3000 amputees through her job at a Trauma Center, sports (skiing & soccer), mission work (Sierra Leone, W. Africa), and prosthetic research. Dee is married to Jim Malchow, and lives in Shoreline, Washington. They have two grown married children who have provided them with eight delightful grandchildren. "I have just read this book with great enjoyment and interest. It brought back a flood of great memories, as I was a colleague of Dee throughout her time at Harborview. She helped me perfect a diurnal pain medication regime which kept patients asleep at night and awake and interacting in the daytime. I also came to realize she was spending extra time counseling new amputee patients at night. We conceived the idea of an amputee clinic and support group with her as the leader. The hospital administration soon realized the value of Dee's program and 'the rest is history...' as they say. Everyone who deals in any way with patients who have incurred a disfiguring and/or disabling injury will find reading this book time very well spent." Sig T. Hansen Jr. MD, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington, School of Medicine; Director of Sigvard T. Hansen Foot & Ankle Institute, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle "The book conveys amazing information and has great value." Douglas G. Smith, MD, Orthopedic trauma and amputation surgeon at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle; Former Medical Director for Amputee Coalition of America. "Your book is very thorough with the mindset of an amputee, and provided food for thought that I would have never even considered unless I read this. In addition, I loved that you had backup quotes from other amputees recounting their experiences-it makes for good ethos/credibility and solidifies your content REALLY well!" Hannah Cvancara, Below-knee amputation from birth deformity, pursing nursing career. "Dee's book is, insightful, comprehensive and encouraging; a fantastic source of information and hope for amputees and those who support them. Sharing her experiences as a nurse, and as an amputee herself, Dee illustrates that with the right perspective the loss of a limb is a challenging transition, but is not the end." Dan Broome, Above knee amputation from trauma, Project Manager for Grading & Demolition Co.

Implement TMR with Your Patients and Improve Their Quality of Life Developed by Dr. Todd A. Kuiken and Dr. Gregory A. Dumanian, targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) is a new approach to accessing motor control signals from peripheral nerves after amputation and providing sensory feedback to prosthesis users. This practical approach has many advantages over other neural-machine interfaces for the improved control of artificial limbs. Targeted Muscle Reinnervation: A Neural Interface for Artificial Limbs provides a template for the clinical implementation of TMR and a resource for further research in this new area of science. After describing the basic scientific concepts and key principles underlying TMR, the book presents surgical approaches to transhumeral and shoulder disarticulation amputations. It explores the possible role of TMR in the prevention and treatment of end-neuromas and details the principles of rehabilitation, prosthetic fitting, and occupational therapy for TMR patients. The book also describes transfer sensation and discusses the surgical and functional outcomes of the first several TMR patients. It concludes with emerging research on using TMR to further improve the function and quality of life for people with limb loss. With contributions from renowned leaders in the field, including Drs. Kuiken and Dumanian, this book is a useful guide to implementing TMR in patients with high-level upper limb amputations. It also supplies the foundation to enable improvements in TMR techniques and advances in prosthetic technology.