BELOW-KNEE AMPUTATION

Course overview

A BELOW-KNEE AMPUTATION (BKA), OR BELOW-THE-KNEE AMPUTATION, IS A TRANSTIBIAL AMPUTATION THAT INVOLVES REMOVING THE FOOT, ANKLE JOINT, DISTAL TIBIA, FIBULA, AND CORRESPONDING SOFT TISSUE STRUCTURES. LOWER EXTREMITY AMPUTATION SERVES AS A LIFE-SAVING PROCEDURE. LOWER LIMB ISCHEMIA, PERIPHERAL ARTERIAL DISEASE, AND DIABETES ARE CONSIDERED THE MAJOR CAUSALITY OF LIMB AMPUTATIONS IN MORE THAN 50% OF CASES. TRAUMA IS THE NEXT LEADING CAUSE OF LOWER-EXTREMITY AMPUTATIONS. IN GENERAL, BELOW-KNEE AMPUTATIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES THAN ABOVE-KNEE AMPUTATIONS. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE INDICATIONS AND TECHNIQUES FOR PERFORMING BELOW-KNEE AMPUTATIONS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE PREOPERATIVE AND POSTOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE CONDITION.