What You Need to Know About Limb Amputations

Associate Professor from Memorial Kayseri Hospital Orthopedics and Traumatology Department. Dr. İbrahim Karaman gave information about the microsurgery method, which is of vital importance in limb ruptures and fragments.

Thanks to microsurgery performed for structures that are too small to be interfered with by the naked eye in the human body, vessels and nerve structures smaller than 1 millimeter can be repaired. With reconstructive microsurgery, severed body parts can be combined, allowing them to perform their normal functions. After the surgery performed with stitches as thin as a hair strand, the nerve and vascular structures can perform their previous functions.

Microsurgery is most commonly used in these situations.

• Muscle and tissue injuries or losses.
• Tissue loss in the tip joint of the fingers with finger ruptures.
• In tissue crushes.
• In the rupture of tendons with the connection point on the bone
• Incisions in vessels and nerves, tendon and nerve transplants.
• In the treatment of nerve compressions.
• In transplanting the limb with the bone and the vessels feeding it to another part of the body.
• Transplantation of vascular tissue, muscle and skin to a different part of the body as a composite.
• Microsurgery technique is used in the removal of tumors in the musculoskeletal system.

Microsurgery operations are performed with the help of microscopes, magnifying optical glasses and very small hand tools. Damaged vessels and nerve structures smaller than 1 millimeter are repaired by means of surgical instruments specially produced for the removal of damage to microstructures in the human body. As a result of the repair of vessels and nerves, it becomes possible to restore damaged blood flow and lost nerve functions. Thanks to reconstructive microsurgery, severed body parts are reunited and they are allowed to perform their normal functions. This technique, which also provides rapid recovery after surgery due to the small incision in the skin and muscle, is also applied in vascular and nerve injuries caused by work accidents.

Even a toe can be sewn in place of a severed finger.

Operations defined as free tissue transplantation with microsurgery method are also performed successfully. Transplantation of vascular tissues taken from different parts of the body is carried out to open wounds and tissue deficiencies, and it is applied in end surgeries such as transplanting the toe instead of the severed finger. Thanks to microsurgery, tissue disorders due to extremity damages, ruptures, organ transplants and organ cancers can be intervened. Functional nerves are transferred to other parts of the body with microsurgery performed to repair the loss of sensation and movement in the peripheral nerves that originate from the spinal cord and extend to the ends of the limbs. As a result of surgery, tissues and limbs can regain sensation and movement. This technique is also used in cuts and fragments in the nerve structure. Bone, tissue, vein and nerve parts are repaired and the vein, nerve and bone taken from different parts of the body are transferred to the relevant region in order to perform their function.

Muscle and nerves are repaired

With reconstructive microsurgery, completely severed limb or organ parts are brought together and it is aimed to restore their normal function. The purpose of replantation is to feed the broken part and then to repair the nerve and muscle beams that provide sensory, motor and other functions. Re-circulation is called 'revascularization' in cases where blood circulation is not fully separated from the body, but thanks to the vascular repair performed.

Surgical experience is essential

Amputation, which often occurs as a result of work and traffic accidents, results in hand and finger ruptures. The correct and functional suturing of the ruptured tissue depends on the damage of the tissue as well as the experience of the surgeon. If the ruptured or ruptured vessel cannot be repaired with the correct microsurgical technique, the amputated body tissue loses its vitality, leading to irreversible loss of the tissue. In this type of accident and injury, the correct preservation of the part separated from the blood circulation is extremely important for the treatment to be carried out.

Depending on the type of procedure performed, the priority in axillary nerve blockade or microsurgical interventions performed under general anesthesia is to preserve tissue vitality and to minimize loss of sensation and function. Veins and tendons are repaired to ensure blood circulation of the bone ends, which are joined with special screws and wires, after the intervention. The operation is completed by repairing the nerve endings. It is very important to reach the health institution without wasting time after the accident so that the amputated limbs can be replanted.