Limb Salvage
When you have suffered from a disease process or injury that threatens to take your arm or leg, it is important you have a team committed to salvaging your limb. The professionals at Foot & Ankle Specialists of Ohio in Mentor, Chardon, Westlake, Bedford and Garfield Heights, Ohio, use a multidisciplinary, team approach to protecting you against limb loss. For a consultation and customized plan to salvage your limb, call or book an appointment online today.
Limb Salvage Q & A
What is limb salvage?
Limb salvage is a surgery used to save a limb from amputation. Amputation of a limb can devastate your mobility, and in some cases can increase your risk of long-term complications. Ideally, limb-salvage surgery helps you avoid amputation.
The primary goal of limb-salvage surgery is to restore bone and muscle stability and restore the damaged limb’s ability to function. Reconstruction of the limb is done as needed to improve circulation, remove infected tissue, repair bone and muscle, and replace lost or missing tissue.
Factors in determining whether amputation or salvage is best include the condition of the blood vessels, the degree of nerve involvement, the extent of soft-tissue and bone loss. Limb salvage is considered over amputation when the circulation and nerves are intact or salvageable despite bone or tissue loss.
What conditions can cause the need for limb salvage?
Conditions that could require limb-salvage surgery are those that cause circulation, nerve, tissue, or bone damage. This can be due to infectious processes, trauma, or cancer removal.
Some conditions that can lead to limb salvage surgery include:
- Diabetic ulcers
- Necrotizing fasciitis
- Crush injuries
- Bone cancer
- Severe bone fracture
- Lacerations
- Frostbite
- Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD)
- Blood clots
Your medical team takes exceptional care to evaluate your specific needs and ideal treatment for the best outcome possible.
What nonsurgical treatment options could be part of limb salvage?
The team at Foot & Ankle Specialists of Ohio takes a multidisciplinary, team-based approach to prevention of amputation and limb salvage. Utilizing expertise of vascular and infectious-disease specialists, the team focuses on underlying causes that could require amputation.
By aggressively treating infections, improving circulation with minimal, noninvasive means, and making tissue healing a priority, you have a much better chance of saving your limbs.
Every case for limb salvage is unique, and each care plan is specific to the needs of the injury and tissue damage. Many conditions that place you at high risk for limb loss are complex and need experienced oversight and follow-up care.
For a consultation with Foot & Ankle Specialists of Ohio about how to protect your limbs and avoid amputation, call or book an appointment online today.