If you have suffered an amputation, you should speak with your doctor. Your doctor can help advise you on the best way to care for your wounds in order to fully heal. Until your wound heals, normally you cannot be fitted for a prosthesis.
Typically, there are multiple phases of caring for your wound. Immediately after your surgery, you will have dressings and there may be drainage, with a drainage tube inserted to remove fluids and aid in repairing tissue. In that phase, you must be very careful of infection. Wash your hands frequently and do not allow anyone to come into contact with you without wearing gloves and/or washing hands. Be very cautious when moving so dressings stay intact. It’s important to eat well and to keep your medical team members advised of your progress.
Once the wound has closed, there are normally sutures put into place, which can be removed two or three weeks later. There are also normally compression dressings applied to reduce swelling to begin shaping your residual limb. They usually changed several times a day. You should follow all instructions offered by your medical team about how to care for those dressings. You may also wear an elastic shrinker sock, which can help reduce swelling. It may be used alone or with elastic bandages.
Once your residual limb has healed and swelling has reduced, it is most likely time to talk to your prostheist about your artificial limb. During the initial period after an amputation, the new amputee’s emotions are typically all over the place, and it can be difficult to make any decisions. However, if your amputation was a result of another party’s negligence, you should consider talking to an attorney as soon as possible. Your case will not improve as time goes by, and in fact can become a great deal more difficult.
Call me, Conal Doyle, Amputee Lawyer, at 310-385-0567 if you have suffered an amputation and you are having legal issues as a result. My team can help. I am not only a personal injury attorney, but I’m also an amputee. Call today to learn more about your options.