The amputation of a limb can be trying on both your mental and physical well-being. However, in addition to the care provided by clinicians and friends and family, patients can help themselves on the road to wellness in many ways. Here are a few suggestions to keep your entire self as healthy as possible:
Physical
Things you do to care for your wound can make you more comfortable and possibly heal with fewer complications, making this transition period much more streamlined.
• Sit with your stump upright: If this is uncomfortable due to the placement of certain stitches or drainage tubes, add a towel or a padded board under your leg to keep it level. It’s also important to keep your stump upright – turning it in or out will limit the maximum blood flow to your leg. Both actions will help deter inflammation in the stump and at the amputation site.
• Do not put a pillow under your leg: Although this may provide some level of comfort for a short amount time, a pillow can elevate the leg (not keep it level), which makes it harder for the circulatory system to pump blood through the stump. This can make the amputation site more prone to complications like infection.
• Resist the urge to cross your legs: Putting your stump over or under your other leg will only hinder blood flow to it.
• Wash your stump daily: In addition to providing maximum blood circulation to your stump, keeping your stump clean is the best way to assist the healing process. Use a mild soap with warm water to gently wash the amputation site.
• Bandaging: this will greatly assist in shaping your stump in preparation for a prosthetic limb, it also helps in reduction of oedema around a stump.
Mental
In the period immediately following your amputation, your mental health is as important as your physical well-being.
• Instill a normal routine. Getting used to daily life with your amputation is key. While you may have to go at your daily tasks at a slower pace, it’s important to find new ways to complete your routine. If you enjoy cooking, make yourself easy meals. If you are a neat freak, feel free to re-organize a small cabinet, or clean a small room.
• Maintain your appearance. Although you may be a bit of a homebody during the weeks after your surgery, it’s important to keep up your appearance. Not only will this help you maintain cleanliness, which is key for your recovery, it can also help boost your self-esteem, which can often take a nose dive immediately following surgery. Finding outfits that look good on you and are easy to dress yourself in are key to recovery, and will make the transition to public life with your new appearance much easier.
Things to Look Out For
No matter how well you take care of your amputation, there are times when your wound will still get infected. Regularly inspecting your amputation wound will help you catch any possible infections early on, so be sure to check all sides, nooks and crannies. The National Institutes of Health suggests using a small handheld mirror to look at any sections of your amputation that you cannot easily see otherwise.
• Color; A wound that has red streaks or is darker than the skin surrounding it may be infected and should be checked by a clinician.
• Smell; Your wound should never smell bad. If you sniff a foul odor, contact your health care personnel for assistance.
• Temperature; Amputation sites should not be hotter than the surrounding skin, and if you do feel excessive heat, the site is likely infected and needs treatment.
• Appearance; New drainage holes will not occur automatically occur, nor will healthy wound sites get larger. Excess swelling should also be reported to a clinician immediately.