Anticipating Amputation

Description: Surgical techniques that fail to anticipate an amputee's functional needs are in part to blame for a disappointing lack of improvement in prosthetic outcomes over the last four decades. Prosthetic outcomes for amputees haven't improved over the past 40 years, according to a new study by a team from the Rochester, MN-based Mayo Clinic. Not only that, but rates of amputation appear primed to double by 2030. Before her team compiled its research, Andrews had believed that 80% of amputees ended up using prosthetic devices successfully. Instead, the proportion was more like 32.4% total, or 47% for below-the-knee amputees and 13% for above-the-knee amputees.