RN with below knee amputation

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Hi there. I was looking for some people who have experience with working with below knee amputees.

I was involved in a severe accident as a child that left me with a crushed left leg. I went through about 5 years of antibiotics, external and internal fixation, muscle grafts, bone grafts, skin grafts, central lines, 50+ surgeries....it was hell. I was left with a left leg that was 1.5" shorter than the right and decreased function. I am unable to walk without a brace.

Anyways that all cleared up in 2001 when I was 19 and since then I have gone on to get married, run a few marathons and most importantly graduate nursing school. Since 2005 I have worked in the Emergency Department. I did my first few years in a busy level one and never let my bum leg get me down or stop me. And now, within the past 6 months I have been having intense pain in that foot.

After seeing a couple of specialists and discussing quality of life and long term solutions we decided a below the knee amputation was the only real permanent solution. I have come to accept this. It hurts and I'm pretty scared about the whole thing but what I am most scared of is returning to work. What is that going to be like?? As supportive as my coworkers are, how will they act when I come back? Will I be able to keep up??

Any insight would be appreciated. My surgery is scheduled August 20.

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Specializes in Going to Peds!.

How old are you? Are you in good physical shape otherwise?

You're aware that you will have significant recovery time & rehab needs? I can't imagine this being a 12 week type rehab.

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I am 31 and in excellent health. I am not overweight and exercise daily. The ortho who's doing the surgery says 4-6 month recovery time. I told my doc "more like 3-4 months" :)

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Specializes in Going to Peds!.
I am 31 and in excellent health. I am not overweight and exercise daily. The ortho who's doing the surgery says 4-6 month recovery time. I told my doc "more like 3-4 months" :)

I would believe your ortho.

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Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I work acute rehab and have had a lot of amputee patients. They usually start to do really well even after the first week with learning to transfer and get around with. Just the one leg. I hear a lot of complaints about the strong side being really sore for over compensating. We would usually have them for up to a month and for all of that time they were not fitted yet with a prosthesis......it takes a lot of time for the stump (I hate that word) to go back to normal size after the swelling. There are usually multiple fittings until you find a prothesis that fits well and even then usually more as the years go by. You'll need a lot of physical therapy but with your age and health I think you will do well. A lot of the recovery has to do with frame of mind and willingness to follow instructions and be encouraged. Below the knee amputations are a lot easier on the patient also than above the knee. I think 4 months is a realistic expectation. Good luck to you.

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Maybe I should have believed ortho when they told me I would never walk again too

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Specializes in Going to Peds!.
Maybe I should have believed ortho when they told me I would never walk again too

It's not about your determination, etc. It's about the skin, bone, muscle, etc healing after a very major surgery. Your stump will need time to heal before any weight bearing at all. Then, you will spend time in PT with your new prosthesis. The 4 months that your ortho gave you in his 4-6 month outline is the earliest you can realistically expect to be on your prosthesis for any significant amount of time. And it takes time to toughen that stump up to tolerate 12 hour shifts.

I know your goal with surgery is to eliminate your foot pain & improve your quality of life. Be prepared for "phantom limb" sensations, including pain. Not every patient has them, but many patients do.

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I asked this same question a few weeks ago. My best friend and coworker just went thru that surgery and eventually wants to go back to nursing. Thing is, she is a floor nurse on a busy ortho unit-12 hour shifts. Not sure if she can keep up if she went back to that type of nursing.

I hope you get some replies from nurses who were able to resume work. I'd like to hear the answers as well!

BTW...her surgery went very well. She was in the hospital for a week and then went to Acute Rehab for a week and is now home. Her only complaint is of phantom pain. She'll be fitted for a prosthetic in about a month.

Good luck!!!

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Don't be discouaged. Sounds like with some patience you will be where you want to be. Try to not push yourself too hard because you want the best possible outcome! Praying for you!

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

If double amputees can run marathons...they you should be able to be a nurse. whether the hospital will see you as fit for duty....I have no idea.

duplicate threads merged

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Specializes in Psych.

my father is a Left BKA who works not in nursing but in construction. And while nursing is tough, Im pretty sure he is working physically harder than I am on any given day. People who meet my dad, know that he has a limp, but unless we tell them they dont know that he is an amputee.

As for time frame of returning- My dad was out about 10 months ( June until they went after the winter shutdown), but his was a traumatic injury immediate amputation, save as much bone as we can. I often say my dads leg looks like a ham bone, not nice and smooth like most amputations. He also had to have skin grafts done and more tissue died, so not the norm. Basically he went to get fitted for his prosthetic 2 weeks after amputation and was sent immediately to a hospital to take care of issues. It took about a year to shrink the stump so he wasnt fixing socks all day long. 5 months after amputation, we were at Disney and Universal, with him walking some and using an electric cart some.

Good luck, and if you ever decide to go sky diving, take the leg off first, trust me. :)

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It's not about your determination, etc. It's about the skin, bone, muscle, etc healing after a very major surgery. Your stump will need time to heal before any weight bearing at all. Then, you will spend time in PT with your new prosthesis. The 4 months that your ortho gave you in his 4-6 month outline is the earliest you can realistically expect to be on your prosthesis for any significant amount of time. And it takes time to toughen that stump up to tolerate 12 hour shifts.

I know your goal with surgery is to eliminate your foot pain & improve your quality of life. Be prepared for "phantom limb" sensations, including pain. Not every patient has them, but many patients do.

I wasn't looking for anyone to tell me what recovery will be like, I already know what I have ahead of me. I also know I am more capable and motivated than most people undergoing an amputation. I was looking for others who are working as a nurse with a below knee amputation or have worked with one who could share their experiences.

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