Comprehensive Management of the Upper-Limb Amputee

Each year in the United States, an estimated 40,000 persons lose a limb. Of these amputees, approximately 30% lose a hand or an arm. This loss is most frequently related to trauma occurring in the healthy young adult male and is often work related. Approximately 3% of all amputees are born with congenital limb absence. In children, the ratio of congenital to acquired amputation is 2: 1, and the ratio of upper-limb to lower-limb amputees is 1. 2: 1. Therefore, since relatively few amputations res