Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventive surgery for such problems. A special case is that of congenital amputation, a congenital disorder, where fetal limbs have been cut off by constrictive bands. In some countries, judicial amputation is currently used to punish people who commit crimes. Amputation has also been used as a tactic in war and acts of terrorism; it may also occur as a war injury. In some cultures and religions, minor amputations or mutilations are considered a ritual accomplishment. When done by a person, the person executing the amputation is an amputator. The oldest evidence of this practice comes from a skeleton found buried in Liang Tebo cave, East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo dating back to at least 31,000 years ago, where it was done when the amputee was a young child. A prosthesis or a bioelectric replantation may restore sensation of the amputated limb.
Lower limb amputations can be divided into two broad categories: minor and major amputations. Minor amputations generally refer to the amputation of digits. Major amputations are commonly below-knee- or above-knee amputations. Common partial foot amputations include the Chopart, Lisfranc, and ray amputations.
Common forms of ankle disarticulations include Pyrogoff, Boyd, and Syme amputations. A less common major amputation is the Van Nes rotation, or rotationplasty, i.e. the turning around and reattachment of the foot to allow the ankle joint to take over the function of the knee.
amputation of the lower limb distal to the ankle joint
amputation of the lower limb at the ankle joint
amputation of the lower limb between the knee joint and the ankle joint, commonly referred to as a below-knee amputation
amputation of the lower limb at the knee joint
amputation of the lower limb between the hip joint and the knee joint, commonly referred to an above-knee amputation
amputation of the lower limb at the hip joint
amputation of the whole lower limb together with all or part of the pelvis, also known as a hemipelvectomy or hindquarter amputation
Types of upper extremity amputations include:
trans-radial amputation, commonly referred to as below-elbow or forearm amputation
trans-humeral amputation, commonly referred to as above-elbow amputation
A variant of the trans-radial amputation is the Krukenberg procedure in which the radius and ulna are used to create a stump capable of a pincer action.
Facial amputations include but are not limited to:
amputation of the nose (rhinotomy)
amputation of the tongue (glossectomy)
amputation of the eyes (enucleation)