acute rehabilitation post leg amputation

There are rehabilitation teams including carers, physios and OTs (occupational therapists) that can visit you at home for up to 6 weeks after discharge. This service is free for up to 6 weeks. This team can help you with washing and dressing yourself, making meals and promoting your independence at home in day to day tasks. Carers will call to your home once, twice or three times daily depending on your needs. If you have family support at home then you may not require carers to help.

There are local voluntary agencies available that can assist with these tasks. Sometimes there is a fee involved for this service. Ask the occupational therapist on your ward for more details.

If you decide that you would like a prosthetic limb, a referral will be made to the limb fitting service. Before you are measured and casted for a limb your wound will need to be healed and the swelling in your stump gone down. The earliest this will happen is 6-8 weeks post operation.

You will have an appointment at the limb fitting service to discuss your needs and receive physiotherapy at the centre before you can take the limb home.

The physiotherapist and occupational therapist will try to meet with you before your surgery to talk you through the rehabilitation process and answer any questions.

We will discuss the following:

• How do you normally mobilize and manage your day to day tasks?
• Do you have any support at home?
• What is your home environment like?

We recommend that you bring in your everyday clothes so that you can practice dressing yourself after you operation. We can provide instruction on best ways to do this.

You will be measured for a wheelchair by the occupational therapist on the ward. You will be provided with a permanent wheelchair by your local wheelchair services. We will loan you a wheelchair for using on the ward. We recommend that you do not use crutches as it is very important to protect the stump and allow it to heal. A wheelchair will allow the stump to remain elevated to promote healing.

The occupational therapist will arrange for a visit to your house to assess for any adaptions or equipment needed to promote your independence at home.

The Physiotherapist and OT will visit you as soon as appropriate after your operation usually on day 1. The speed of rehabilitation progress is very dependent on the individual; we will adapt your rehab to suit your needs and ability.

• We will start with practicing moving in the bed and sitting on the edge of the bed.
• We will progress to using a slide board to help you transfer into and out your wheelchair.
• We will teach you how to use your wheelchair and self-propel (using big wheels moving yourself) around the ward.
• As you progress we will try to replicate your home set up to practice getting in and out of bed onto your wheelchair and on and off the toilet.