Last post Fri, May 23 2008 9:03 PM by ErgoMan. 29 replies.
We call both of my husbands stumps. He hates any other term. I still say legs when I talk to him and he is fine with that....example...sometimes the end of his stump is tender...I will say, Is your leg hurting? Sometimes I will ask if his stump is hurting...like I said, he is fine with both.
For me, "stump' and "residual" are pretty much interchangable. I guess it depends on the person. Maybe try to ask the patient which term they prefer?
Dr. House,I am an amputee and a prosthetist and have been for the last 25 years or so. I find most people who are amputees or have been for some time are alright with the term stump. The latest term for the stump is trans tib fib or whatever bone or bones it crosses. This is still confusing for the patient,but makes the practitioner more comfortable by not having to say stump. I think it depends a lot on the setting and how familiar you are with the person. Bill
Thanks for everyone's input. i asked the question because as residents were taught that we should not refer to the amputated leg as a stump, but instead should call it a "residual leg". I always wondered who's idea this was becasue every patient that came in looked at me like I was crazy when I referred to it as a "residual". Usually they would say, "oh, you mean my stump".
So, I thought this would be a great forum to ask everybody. My conclusion so far is that most would perfer the term "stump", but I would just advise the clinician to ask the patient what they perfer and go with that.
Thanks!
Like most of the other amputees here it's "my stump" I have had doctors refer to it however as "residual limb'.....my kids call it my "little leg"
I call mine.... (drum roll please)...
My leg!
My oldest son took my amputation (BKA) very hard and would not let me call it a stump. Now, after three years, he is used to me calling it my stump. I like the term stump. The medical profession needs a PC term though, hence the term residual limb. I would prefer remaining over residual though.
i am a aka right.i call whats left a nub.i let people rub the nub for good luck,
it is what it is,you can be serious and call it a stump or residual limb.i call it a nub,
i find that people don`t know what to say to me about my amputation,but after i tell them to rub my nub for good luck,it breaks the ice.little kids also understand nub alot easier than stump.just remember it is yours,so you can call it whatever you want.
PC says to call it a residual limb, but I just call it a stump.
If you cut a tree down, what's left in the ground is the stump. If you do a pneumonectomy and close off a mainstem bronchus, it's called a stump. If you do an appendectomy, the cut end sutured closest to the cecum is called the stump. It goes on and on.
People get too hung up on this stuff. If your patient calls it a stump, follow suit. If they want to call it a residual limb, do likewise.
House:For all amputees, I would really appreciate your input on a topic about "what to call it". During my residency in Rehab we were told that we should no longer refer to someones "remaining leg or arm" as a "stump", but instead we should refer to it as a "residual limb". I used "residual limb", but patients would come in and tell me to called it a stump. Now some may say that we should not talk about it as something separate, but we as physicians do have to address this area of the anatomy because we are talking about specifics such as phantom sensation, pain, skin problems, etc. What does everyone perfer? Have you had a doc say residual limb?
For all amputees, I would really appreciate your input on a topic about "what to call it". During my residency in Rehab we were told that we should no longer refer to someones "remaining leg or arm" as a "stump", but instead we should refer to it as a "residual limb". I used "residual limb", but patients would come in and tell me to called it a stump. Now some may say that we should not talk about it as something separate, but we as physicians do have to address this area of the anatomy because we are talking about specifics such as phantom sensation, pain, skin problems, etc.
What does everyone perfer? Have you had a doc say residual limb?
I just call mine "Nubby." Okay, seriously, I'm new to this, but I have heard both terms used. The first time I heard "residual limb," in reference to my own leg, I said, "You mean my stump?" My own doctor just refers to Nubby as my leg, and when I am speaking seriously, so do I. The only part that does not work is, obviously, the part that is NOT THERE, so the rest of it is a leg, as it is functional. I suppose it may be a good idea to find out what the patient prefers you to call the leg - maybe use the question as an ice breaker? "Do you call your limb a residual limb, a stump, or 'that thing on the end of my leg?'" Okay, maybe not that last part if you have someone who is particularly sensitive or has no sense of humor.
hugs from ducky
-P.S. love the name (House, MD is a favorite program)
djami - how ya doing? Ahh a fellow crutcher. I have been stickin it around for 20 years now. I feel like a minority in the amputee world. People assume I can't afford a leg or never thought of it. Oh I've thought of it but have opted to not use one. Well, for now.
Hi Doc,
In the UK it is referred to as both by prosthetists, surgeons and doctors dealing with you. Residual limb causes little confusion purely because there is no argument as to what is being talked about. It is simply that...the bit you have left as a limb!! Stump is often used between lesser medically 'qualified' folk like friends, family and ourselves as amputees. Hope this helps!
Stump (German: Stumpf) and without doubt, blunt words to describe naked facts are the ones to use.
I use "damaged arm", "my arm" or "end of my arm" for grammatical variation only.
Verbal nitpicking seems of no particular use - in my view, the real damage is not so much in labelling the stump(s) as such. The real damage is all that surrounds the extremity loss.
I happen to call both mine "stumps". I have cut off sweat pants that are sewn shut at the end and i call them shwartz (sweat shorts). Don't ask me why.......that's just what I call them. It's your body so call it, them whatever you want. We have nicknames for all kinds of things.....so why should this be any different.
