Amputation

If you are faced with an amputation, you’re probably feeling a wide range of emotions and have many questions and concerns. At University of Michigan Health, we offer complete, compassionate amputation care, taking you from the amputation process to getting you back to daily living by listening to your needs, providing you a thorough education and utilizing the most current technology available.

Goals for Comprehensive Amputation Care

Our goals are:

• To educate you about amputation and answer all of your questions
• Ensure that your limb(s) is healing properly after surgery
• Coordinate with occupational therapy and physical therapy to ensure you are improving strength, range of motion and balance, and are relearning daily living skills
• Ensure your pain issues are handled and address phantom pain (feeling pain in a limb that is no longer there)
• Coordinate with Psychology, if needed
• Teach you proper wound care
• Educate you about the various prosthetics available
• Fit you for your prosthesis
• Train you in using and caring for your prosthesis
• Provide follow-up care as needed

Inpatient Rehabilitation

University of Michigan Health physicians and neuropsychologists are skilled in managing complex rehabilitation cases.   For patients with inpatient amputation rehabilitation needs, we have partnered with Chelsea Hospital to provide that care in the most appropriate setting.   Patients will have continued access to Michigan Medicine’s high level of medical expertise along with the dedicated, interdisciplinary team of skilled professionals to maximize functionality. 

About Our Amputation Clinics

We offer two clinics devoted to caring for adults and children with amputations: Our Lower Extremity Clinic is dedicated to the prosthetic care of patients with lower extremity problems, such as leg and foot wounds, leg and foot deformities, peripheral vascular disease, foot pain and diabetic foot care. Physicians, prosthetists, orthotists and occupational therapists staff the clinic. Our Upper Extremity Clinic cares for and treats patients with conditions such as amputations, brachial plexus injuries and nerve injuries. We coordinate care among our physiatrists (a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation), prosthetists and therapists in order to fully address mobility, pain and function issues.

Multidisciplinary Amputation Care

As a multidisciplinary team, we treat the whole patient, addressing both the physical and emotional issues that come with an amputation. It’s important to allow yourself time to grieve and deal with what losing a part of your body means to you. We provide you access to psychologists and social workers, and offer U-CAN: a non-profit Amputee Coalition of America member support group, to help people with amputations and their families cope with the initial shock of loss and help them regain their lives. We also offer the services of a Limb Loss Support Coordinator, who provides information and resources, answers questions and arranges peer visits between people with similar amputations.

Orthotics and Prosthetics Center

Our Orthotics & Prosthetics Center has been awarded a three-year accreditation by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics, Inc., and is among the few University based facilities in the country that offer comprehensive orthotic and prosthetic services. We custom design orthotics and prosthetics to fit each patient’s individual needs, and utilize CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) to quickly and efficiently design and fabricate the devices, using 3-D imaging. Our outpatient center is conveniently located in Ann Arbor, minutes from I-94 and US-23. Free parking and easy access to the facility is available. Call ahead and we can provide wheelchair support. We require prescriptions for most of our orthotics and prosthetics services. Some walk-in services are available. Please call ahead.

Make an Appointment

To make an appointment with our amputee clinic or post-polio physician specialists, please call the Orthotics & Prosthetics Call Center at (734) 973-2400. For other contact and appointment information related to Rehabilitation Medicine, visit our Make an Appointment with Rehabilitation Medicine page.