Our patient, Georg Gremels, had his left leg amputated on the 29th of January. While in theatre, we fitted him with a Post Operation Rigid dressing from Åssur. This dressing helps reduce swelling and can be opened for wound inspection. The liners’ size is determined by the measurement of the residual limb. These liners are worn for a 6 – 9 week period or till the volume of the residual limb has stabilised.
The patient was seen once a week; during this time, measurements were taken and as the size of the residual limb decreased, smaller liners were issued. After this period, Georg was fitted with a temporary prosthesis to further reduce and reshape the residual limb. He wore this temporary prosthesis for another 7 weeks.
16 weeks after his amputation, he was fitted with his 1st permanent prosthesis. The pictures provided show the test socket that was manufactured to inspect the fitting of the socket.
After 10 months of wearing his 1st permanent socket, we needed to do a refit as the volume of his residual limb had decreased again. In the beginning stages of an amputation, the fluctuation of the residual limb’s volume is troublesome. Doctors intensively tried to manage his residual limb’s volume. Despite all this effort, the first socket only fitted for 10 months.
For new amputees, this is a typical example of what can happen during your first prosthesis. Younger patients who suffer a traumatic amputation experience volume changes more often than older patients who received an amputation due to vascular problems.