prosthetic process

Evaluation and Assessment

A comprehensive initial evaluation and assessment of the amputee's ambulation potential are key to a successful outcome and appropriate expenditure of health care resources. The prosthetist needs to know how well the residual limb will bear up under the stresses of weight-bearing and whether the patient's overall state of health and other medical conditions will limit his/her ability to use a prosthesis effectively. In some cases, particularly involving older amputees with a co-existing disease such as diabetes or arthritis, this evaluation may prove that a new amputee will receive relatively little benefit from a functional prosthesis. At the opposite end of the spectrum are younger, active amputees who lost their limb to trauma, a localized tumor or other non-debilitating condition and are candidates for sophisticated, high-capability systems.