The incidence, demographics, and functional outcomes are quite different from those of lower limb amputees. The arm amputee is most commonly a young man who sustains a traumatic injury, most often to his right, dominant arm. Because the incidence of arm amputation is low compared to that of the lower extremity, relatively few health professionals have much experience in providing surgery, therapy, rehabilitation, prosthetic care, or counseling for a significant number of arm amputees. This book is the definitive text for these individuals.
The prosthetic field, including its allied healthcare team, takes on a formidable task in restoring physical capabilities to the upper extremity amputee. This feat cannot be accomplished solely using modern technology, and technology is not always the central issue. Optimal rehabilitation requires an underlying commitment in many essential areas of care: for one, sensitivity to the desires, anxieties and fears of the individual with amputation. Although the prosthetic practitioner has at his or her disposal more technology than ever before, restoring integral function for the amputee involves still more than mechanical application. Interdisciplinary, cooperative efforts in research, development, and treatment between prosthetic practitioners and other constituents of the allied healthcare team is paramount. The rehabilitation process must focus not only on the provision and use of a prosthesis, but also on issues related to surgical procedures, self-determination and pain management. To this end, Functional Restoration of Adults and Children with Upper Extremity Amputation provides the definitive guide for all surgeons, prosthetists, and rehabilitation professionals who work with upper limb amputees.
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