Rehabilitation After Amputations in the Hand

Hand and upper extremity amputations occur so frequently that principles of surgical management and rehabilitation measures should be familiar to all involved in the treatment program. The psychological effect of amputation must be taken into consideration and the cosmetic aspect recognized. In order to counsel our patients, more data are needed regarding the functional loss at various amputation levels. Rehabilitative and secondary reconstructive surgery programs can then produce results that will be more meaningful to the patient in terms of employment and everyday use of the hand. Success can be measured only by how closely the patient's life is to normal.