Below The Knee Amputation Stump

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Below The Knee Amputation Stump

feeling of excessive pressure in knee after below knee amputation?

My father has just had a below knee amputation (2.5 hours out of surgery) and is complaining that his dressing is too tight. He feels "excessive" pressure in his knee and is worries that the stump will die. The nurses are telling him this is normal otherwise the stump will hemorage.

Yes, it is normal, however it may be the beginning of phantom limb pain, which is also common. Read below to see how important pain management is in the early stages after amputation. Keep the nurse updated on your dad's pain and be an advocate for him. INSIST on aggressive pain management now, in this post op period. Ask for an epidural, if he is in pain and does not already have one. If the surgeon will not properly address pain, get a Pain Mangement doctor, or, if necessary, fire the surgeon . But NOT before you find another surgeon willing to take your father on. Explain to them that the operating surgeon is not properly addressing immediate postop amputation pain. Firing your surgeon is to be a last resort, and is not to be taken lightly. At the same time, read below to see how important post op pain management in amputees is.....

"Immediate Post-op Pain

Immediate post-op pain is the pain experienced after any surgical procedure where skin, muscle, bone and nerves are cut. Essentially everyone experiences some degree of post-op pain following an amputation. It can usually be controlled with pain medication and subsides fairly rapidly as swelling goes down, tissues begin to heal, and the wound stabilizes. This is simply part of the natural healing process.

It appears from recent research that it is critically important to adequately treat immediate post-op amputation pain because adequate early control decreases the chances of severe problems later. Surgeons are being encouraged to be much more liberal with pain medication in the immediate post-op period. Continuous post-op epidural analgesia is being recommended for pain management since it can be very effective. Adequate doses of narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics (pain medicines) should be prescribed in a fairly rapidly decreasing program to fit the decrease expected in the pain itself."

For amputees who are experiencing an unusually great amount of post-op pain or pain in the phantom limb, (which has been removed), early referral to a comprehensive pain management program is extremely important. Early referral for expert management can remarkably decrease long-term problems with post-amputation pain. Here, an ounce of early treatment can be worth a pound of late treatment.

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