Experience With a Pneumatic Lower‐limb Prosthesis

In the 12 months since its introduction, the pneumatic prosthesis has demonstrated its value as both an immediate and temporary weight-bearing device for lower-limb amputees. Both above-knee and below-knee amputees can use the same basic equipment. Experience with 32 consecutive patients undergoing lower-limb amputation has shown that only gross physical or mental disorder will exclude amputees from an immediate prosthetic programme. The pneumatic prosthesis has not interfered with wound healing, and stable stump measurements have usually been achieved within eight weeks of amputation. Fifty patients have used the prosthesis in the Rehabilitation Department of the Royal Prince. Alfred Hospital, until the definitive limb has been fitted. Only one patient could not use the pneumatic prosthesis in this group. The ultimate limb-usage rate among patients treated with this technique from the time of amputation has been about 85%.