Post-operative Inpatient Falls Among Major Lower Limb Amputees

Purpose of Review Amputees are at the highest risk of any subgroup to experience a fall during their inpatient stay. This review seeks to enhance the understanding of amputee falls risk and explore ways to prevent or mitigate damage due to inpatient falls. Recent Findings Falls among lower limb amputees occur at a rate of 16.5% immediately after surgery while in the acute care hospital and 20.5 to 35% during inpatient rehabilitation. Three percent of patients experience a fall significant enough to require revision surgery and almost half of those are revised to a higher level. Unilateral transtibial amputation and diabetes mellitus as an indication for amputation are independently associated risks of an inpatient fall. In addition to assorted benefits, removable rigid dressings have been demonstrated to protect the residual limb from damage due to inpatient falls. Summary Devices designed to protect the residual limb from possible damage due to an inpatient fall should be routinely considered in order to mitigate a possible return to the operating room for revision surgery and allow the rehabilitation process to continue uninterrupted.