The Pediatric Amputations section gives a comprehensive explanation of limb amputations as if a physician is sitting next to you taking the time to explain the medical details. Here you will learn more about amputations and prostheses. This knowledge will help maximize recovery, optimize health, prevent complications, and improve quality of life. Whether you are reading about your own amputation, a loved one’s, or trying to understand what others are experiencing you will benefit from this article.
What are the types of pediatric limb abnormalities?
In general there are two types of limb abnormalities seen in infants and children. Sixty percent of limb abnormalities occur before birth and are therefore referred to as congenital limb deficiencies. The other 40 percent result when a child is born with otherwise normal limbs but then sustains an amputation from trauma, tumor or infection.
What are the causes of congenital limb deficiency?
Parents should try to understand that when they have a child with a limb deficiency, there is often nothing that they did that resulted in this abnormality. In fact, according to the Association of Children’s Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinic (ACPOC), 60 percent of congenital limb deficiencies either have no known cause or are genetic in origin. Some congenital abnormalities may be due to poor blood supply, constricting amniotic bands. Only 4 percent are due to taking some type of drug or toxin (i.e., maternal drug exposure like thalidomide). Although many of these abnormalities cannot be prevented, some studies have suggested that taking a multivitamin with folic acid helps reduce the risk of congenital abnormalities, including limb deficiencies. Types of congenital limb deficiencies are shown in.
What are the types of congenital limb deficiency?
Some congenital limb deficiencies develop across the growing limb and are referred to as a transverse limb deficiency. For instance, the most common congenital limb abnormality outside of missing digits includes a deficiency across the forearm of the left upper limb. This is also referred to as a transradial (across the radius) limb deficiency. Occasionally some congenital abnormalities are due to the complete absence or shortening of a leg or arm bone, but the rest of the limb beyond the absent or shortened bone developed normally. These types of abnormalities are referred to as longitudinal limb deficiencies. An example of this in the lower limb is Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD). This occurs because the infant’s thigh bone or femur did not develop normally. Other types of longitudinal deficiency occur where a child may be missing one of the two bones in the lower leg or arm. If a child has a complete absence of an entire limb or limbs, the condition is referred to as amelia. These patients appear and are treated similarly to children who have an amputation at the shoulder or hip. Phocomelia is another type of limb deficiency in which the mid-portion of a limb is missing and the hands or feet are attached directly to the trunk. The terminology used for congenital limb deficiencies can be quite complicated.
