Amputation—General Overview Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

If you are planning to have an amputation, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Poor healing at amputation site, resulting in the need for a higher level of amputation
• Skin breakdown
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Swelling at surgical site
• Phantom limb pain —feeling pain in amputated limb area
• Phantom sensation—feeling that amputated limb is still there
• Blood clots
• Complications of anesthesia

Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Peripheral vascular disease
• Diabetes
• Infection
• Prolonged immobility
• Heart disease
• Smoking or lung disease
• Blood clotting disorders
• Certain medicines (eg, steroids)

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, call your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the incision sites
• Increasing or excessive pain
• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain
• Severe nausea and vomiting

In case of an emergency, CALL 911.