The subject of this paper is on amputation in human beings and exploring how the brain reacts to an amputation. In addition, this paper shall look at how an amputation affects the amputee's life, exploring for example; what the psychological and physical limits an amputee could possibly go through and how do they cope with resultant disability? To find this information I have used a number of website sources, as well as journals, newspapers looking at case studies, as well as various books and videos to develop my understanding. An amputation “is the surgical removal of part of the body, such as an arm or leg (NHS 2017). An individual who goes through an amputation goes through bursts of many emotions, as they need to get used to such a change …show more content…
Common medical diseases/conditions known to result in an amputation are breast cancer (mastectomy) and other cancers such as testicular cancers and diabetes. The amputation of a breast (mastectomy) is the removal of all breast tissue on one side or on both sides in which normally the nipple and areola being removed (komen.org 2017). The removal of all of the cancerous tissue from the breast must be removed this is very important because if all of the cancerous cells are not removed there is a chance that the cancer could come back and spread to other parts of the body (NHS 2017). Although a mastectomy is not always the best option for breast cancer it is the most efficient. Moving on, another common medical reason for an amputation is diabetes as the most common amputation done in people with diabetes are the toes, feet, and lower legs. Healthline.com quotes that; peripheral artery disease (PAD) causes your blood vessels to narrow and reduces blood flow to your legs and feet. It may also cause nerve damage. This could prevent you from feeling pain. Due to the lack of pain diabetics may not notice that their feet have a wound or an ulcer and so the pressure being put on this can cause it to become infected. The reduced blood flow slows down the possibility of the wound from becoming healed and makes your body less effective at fighting an infection. From this your wound may …show more content…
“These include shortening and smoothing the bone in your remaining limb so it's covered by an adequate amount of soft tissue and muscle, and stitching the remaining muscle to the bones to help strengthen your remaining limb.”(NHS) Amongst other things such as draining away any urine, painkillers for when you wake up and you being stitched up. However the patient has to have an assessment before having the surgery because it is not an emergency amputation, to make sure what type of amputation is needed to ensure the best recovery, for the future. Factors included in the assessment include: a typical medical assessment as well as a psychological assessment, an assessment of your healthy limb (to see how well the limb could work by itself) and a conclusion on how well the patients living facilities can adapt with this certain disability. (NHS
Rehabilitation after amputation has changed significantly. It now includes a more in depth process and aftercare to ensure and a full recovery is achieved and reduces the potential for infections and complications. Patients are encouraged to take part in sport to aid them in their recovery and, with the use of specialized prosthetics, are readily available. It has also been said to help reduce Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which, according to a study by Abeyasinghe 2012, suggested that 42.5% of lower limb amputees suffered with PTSD (Abeyasinghe, de Zoysa, Bandara, Bartholameuz, & Bandara,
Overall, I do believe that elective amputation can be justified but there are always going to be those people that take it too far. Bionic technology is going to continue to expand and develop. New advancements will create more concerns and more controversial issues.
Strange as that this may sound, when a Wannabee person lose a limb they are actually gaining so much more of who they felt they are. As one Amputee said to his doctor “you have made me the happiest of all men by taking away from me a limb which put an invincible obstacle to my
Amputation and Surgery in the 19th Century Surgery and Amputation During this period a deep cut could lead to infection, and the only treatment for infections was amputation and catheterization. However, hospitals and medical instruments were hardly ever sanitized, so one could often come out of the hospital worse than when one went in (Bloodwiki). It is not uncommon for a person to survive a surgery only to be set upon by diseases such as hospital gangrene and septicaemia (Youngson 29). Youngson describes hospitals as “dark and overcrowded, ill-run and insanitary”. It was not uncommon to see in the same ward, at the same time, cases of, (let us say) typhoid fever, erysipelas, pneumonia, rickets, dysentery; nor was it uncommon to see two patients in the same bed” (Youngson 24).
Almost all patients who have lost a limb due to an organ amputation, paralysis, or were born with inherited birth deficiency would undergo a mysterious phenomenon called phantom limb. Within this syndrome, patients would have a perception of their missing limb and would receive sensations from it. Limb loss could be due to many factors, such as congenital deficiencies, spinal cord injuries, and amputation of a limb. Although phantom limb sensation and phantom limb pain are strongly correlated, they should be differentiated. Phantom limb sensation is experienced by almost all biological and accidental amputees. On the other side, phantom limb pain is almost exclusively experienced as a result of an amputation.
1.) Mr. Ames is a 67-year-old man who recently had his right leg amputated just below the knee following a serious infection. Mr. Ames suffers from a number of comorbidities that make his treatment extremely complex. During his time in the hospital Mr. Ames did not follow medical advice and opted into an amputation that was much lower on his leg than the medical team advice. After a 10-day recovery in the hospital, Mr. Ames was transferred to a rehabilitation center for further health improvement. His ultimate treatment goal is to be able to stay at home while his wife continues to work nights, and to be able to perform necessary ADLs. He hopes to not add any additional burdens to his wife’s life. The treatment team at the rehabilitation
... middle of paper ... ...3). The prosthetist pays careful attention to the structure of the patient’s residual limb, including where the muscles, tendons and bones are located (Clements para 3). He also takes into account the health of the patient and the condition of their skin (Clements para 3). After the prosthetic is made, the prosthetist still has the task of making adjustments.
insurance coverage is important and can be obtained through government sources, employer benefit programs, or private providers.)
Infant circumcision is one of the most controversial bioethical issues during this time. On one hand some researchers try and justify the practice of circumcision with arguments of hygienic issues, ideology, parental rights, cultural identity, and freedom of religion. On the other hand some researchers argue that circumcision violates morality, making the point that an infant being circumcised is absolutely unable to give consent, calling circumcision a form of abuse.
Throughout our research, we have discovered that circumcision plays a big role in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. After coming across this article, it became clear that the benefits of circumcision are not widely known, even in doctors and nurses who play a role in performing the neonatal male circumcisions. This article is important to our project because it shows that even though circumcision is effective in the prevention against sexually transmitted infections, along with promoting proper hygiene, 62% of health care workers did not think that neonatal circumcision would help in the prevention of HIV.
The two controversial topics discussed below share a single goal: to enhance the quality of life of a human individual. The first topic, transhumanism, is a largely theoretical movement that involves the advancement of the human body through scientific augmentations of existing human systems. This includes a wide variety of applications, such as neuropharmacology to enhance the function of the human brain, biomechanical interfaces to allow the human muscles to vastly out-perform their unmodified colleagues, and numerous attempts to greatly extend, perhaps indefinitely, the human lifespan. While transhumanist discussion is predominantly a thinking exercise, it brings up many important ethical dilemmas that may face human society much sooner than the advancements transhumanism desires to bring into reality. The second topic, elective removal of healthy limbs at the request of the patient, carries much more immediate gravity. Sufferers of a mental condition known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder seek to put to rest the disturbing disconnect between their internal body image and their external body composition. This issue is often clouded by sensationalism and controversy in the media, and is therefore rarely discussed in a productive manner (Bridy). This lack of discussion halts progress and potentially limits citizens' rights, as legislation is enacted without sufficient research. The primary arguments against each topic are surprisingly similar; an expansion on both transhumanism and elective amputation follows, along with a discussion of the merit of those arguments. The reader will see how limits placed on both transhumanism and elective amputation cause more harm to whole of human society than good.
The purpose of this prosthetic limb is to help people who have lost a hand or arm in any type of accident like Les Baugh. He one of the patients currently outgoing testing with the prosthetic limb. He lost both of his arms at a electrical accident a young age and the prosthetic he using are attached to the end of his shoulders, since the accident cut his arms right to that section. He underwent surgery in order to remap the nerves
Stroke is a commonly known disease that is often fatal. This cellular disease occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by either a blood clot halting the progress of blood cells in an artery, called an Ischemic stroke, or a blood vessel in the brain bursting or leaking causing internal bleeding in the brain, called a hemorrhagic stroke. When this happens, brain cells are deprived of oxygen and nutrients because the blood cells carrying these essential things are stopped, causing them to die. When the cells in the brain die, sensation or movement in a limb might be cut off and may limit an organism’s abilities. A person with stroke is affected depending on where in the brain the stroke occurs. In other words, symptoms of a stroke
The previous insert from William Lee Adams’ article, Amputee Wannabes, describes a 33-year-old man’s wish for amputation of his foot. There was nothing physically or medically wrong with this limb; John only stated that he did not feel comfortable with his own body and felt as though his foot was not a part of him. John’s leg was amputated above the knee, and he went on to describe that the operation resolved his anxiety and allowed him to be at ease in his own body (Adams, 2007).
The disability that I would the least comfortable socially interacting with would be a physical disability. Our current society is one that values physical appearances. At a young age, family and friends tell children they have to act and look a certain way in order for others to like them. The media shows young boys and girls what a “hot” person looks like, and what they can do in order to look more like them. A physical disability would affect the image one is to present to society, and that can be emotional scarring. “When physical appearance is altered as a result of disability, the body falls further away from the expectations of society and body image, and the attitude one has toward the physical self may decline and affect self-image”