Why knee disarticulation (through-knee-amputation) is appropriate for non ambulatory patients

Purpose: To determine the reason why 79% of knee disarticulation amputees had not received a prosthesis. Method: A 10 year survey was carried out of all patients who had undergone a knee disarticulation at our medical centre. Results: Seventeen of the 37 patients that had not received a prosthesis were recognized to be non-ambulators prior to the surgery. Four patients died after the surgery and in 16 of the patients their general condition limited functional ambulation. An effort had been made to ambulate the patients but had failed. Conclusions: From a biomechanical point of view many advantages are to be gained for sedentary and bedridden amputees when the level of amputation is through-the-knee.