Article

Congenital absence of the upper limb can be ameliorated by use of a prosthetic device. Regular prosthetic wear can be associated
with skin and musculoskeletal problems. Shorter lever arm of the residual stump can cause pain over pressure points, skin
ulceration, bursitis and inability to wear the prosthesis. Temporary discontinuation of prosthetic wear is used to facilitate wound
dressing and healing.
This inevitably leads to limitation of activity and may lead to the amputee not going to work. We describe
a young patient with congenital transverse upper third forearm deficiency, who was having difficulty in wearing an upper limb
prosthesis, due to the stump lacking in soft tissue cover, causing pain and poor function. This resulted in physical and emotional
difficulties for the patient.
The patient underwent fat graft transfer from abdomen into the limb with a successful outcome,
leading to improved comfort and stability of the prosthesis. With advances in liposuction procedures and easier aspiration of fat
from the body fat; fat grafting has become more widely available. Further scientific development in this field has allowed more
plastic, dermatological and cosmetic surgeons to offer their patients fat transfer for functional and cosmetic benefits. However,
there are no reported cases of the use of fat grafting in amputees.
This case demonstrates the successful use of fat graft to
improve functional outcome in an amputee. We feel fat transplants
can be used in both congenital and acquired limb loss
patients with similar problems with good success rates.

Langue : ANGLAIS