Questions that we will cover in this article are :

When Will I Get My New Prothetic Leg (Arm and / or hand)?

Why do I have an infection after the amputation?

Did my doctor make a mistake, is that why I have an infection?

How do I take care of the incision line after my amputation?

Initial Hurdles After Surgery

Your focus now hopefully is getting over these initial hurdles like the edema we have talked about in previous posts. And again, getting a prosthesis may seem way off in the distance, but it does not have to be that way.

The truth is, if you continue to heal consistently the process of getting a new prosthetic limb will be measured in a time frame of weeks most likely and not in many months or years.  The time frame can vary though, so nobody can tell you something very specific.  If they are really specific on the day you will receive it, early on in your treatment, then you might have a problem on your hands.

Also, if you are like many others who have had a surgery like this, you will probably want to get up and moving again.  Eventually.  Maybe not today but soon enough you will start to move toward that line of thinking. In other words, the feelings to get moving for many people will come around sooner than you think, even if they are not there right now.

A night’s rest can go a long way for many patients and tomorrow morning you might get the itch to start moving around again.  You never know.  Either way, it is probably best that we do not stay in the mindset that the prosthesis is so far off in the distance for many of those reading this article and others here.

The priority right after a surgery of this kind though is taking care of your swelling and incision line.  If you can stay the course and knock out those two issues then you are on your way to getting your new prosthesis.

Another topic that comes into play is infection.  This could hinder your recovery.

Infection Save

Infections happen.

The best surgeons have a certain percentage of infection that happen.  You are not the only one that may have gotten an infection (if this did or does occur).   At first, some people want to blame the surgeon for it, but this can be an overstep.

The truth is that anyone can get an infection after the surgery.  Infections can be very serious, so it is best to treat them that way.  Even a young, otherwise healthy person can get an infection in their residual limb after surgery.  Infections are not partial either and any of us can get them if we had a surgery of this kind.  We have seen young otherwise healthy people get them.  It does not have to be someone who had a surgery that has an underlying condition.

It is best to consult your doctor and to stay on top of the possibility for infection as you move forward each and every day.  Keeping everything as clean as possible is a great starting point.  Also, making sure those that are working with you stay clean and wear gloves in a medical facility is probably a good idea.  This almost goes without saying.

One of the best ways to keep an eye on things is to proactively keep an eye on the incision line yourself.  In your own efforts to make sure your hygiene is up to par and that there are no problems with the incision, we suggest using a mirror to check the distal end of the residual limb, as seen in the image below.