Key points of elastic bandaging after amputation

Amputation is not the end of patient treatment, it can even be said to be the beginning of patient treatment, which then involves the installation of prostheses, rehabilitation training and many other aspects. Therefore, doctors must adhere to this concept when performing amputation surgeries on patients and plan for the patient's future treatment.

After amputation, most patients will press the prosthetic limb. Generally, the contact cavity worn by the stump is compared to our shoes, and the stump is compared to the foot. The most important thing when buying shoes is that they fit in the right size and are comfortable to wear. After amputation, if rehabilitation training, including the use of elastic bandages, is not performed, the amputation stump cannot effectively shrink and reshape, resulting in swelling of the stump that cannot be shaped. The direct result is that it will hinder the wearing of prostheses.

After surgery, the amputated arm or leg will definitely swell. Therefore, after general amputation surgery, doctors will apply appropriate bandages to reduce swelling, and elastic bandages are usually used after the wound heals. For amputee patients, the use of elastic bandages is a lifelong matter. After installing the prosthetic limb, it is also necessary to wrap the residual limb with an elastic bandage when the prosthetic limb is not being worn to prevent it from swelling and causing the prosthetic limb to fail to fit. To give an analogy, if you wear shoes with laces when your feet are swollen and shapeless, after walking for a period of time, the shoes will gradually become loose due to changes in swelling and the texture of the shoes. At this time, you can re-tighten the laces to prevent the shoes from not heeling. Same reason. If the stump of an amputation patient is not wrapped with an elastic bandage and is swollen and unshaped, the prosthesis will loosen after installation, causing the prosthesis to detach.

Therefore, in view of the above reasons, patients should learn to use elastic bandages correctly in the early stage of recovery. When wrapping the elastic bandage on the arm, start from the farthest end. The bandage should be wrapped in a spiral to prevent circular tightening. It can be loosened when approaching the proximal end. Finally, it can be wrapped around the chest to prevent the bandage from falling off.

　　 Picture of elastic bandage wrapping thigh

When wrapping the elastic bandage on the thigh, pay special attention not to pull it too tightly when wrapping it around the waist, so as not to pull the thigh forward after the bandage is completed.

　　 Picture of an elastic bandage wrapping the calf

When bandaging the calf with an elastic bandage, pay attention to exposing the patella at the knee as much as possible. Do not bandage the back and top of the knee too tightly to avoid affecting joint movement. If the remaining part of the calf is relatively long, you can also bandage only the part below the joint.

The importance of elastic bandages to amputee patients requires doctors to teach patients to use them correctly to ensure that they can use prostheses more freely in their daily lives when amputees wear prostheses.