Historical Evolution of Limb Amputation

Abstract.

The amputation of a limb is one of the oldest surgical procedures. In the course of medical history operative techniques and surgical instruments have been improved continuously. As early as the first century Celsus described an amputation. A major step in the development of the operative technique was the introduction of an artery forceps by Paré during the sixteenth century. Nevertheless, due to a lack of analgesics and narcotics the operation had to take only a few minutes. Therefore the amputation was completed in one cut (i.e., detachment of the skin, muscles, and bone at the same level). This technique, known as “classic circular cut,” was modified several times in the following period: to reduce suture tension Petit recommended that we transect the skin first and the muscles and bone more proximally (“two-stage circular cut,” 1718), and Bromfield approved that the skin be cut first, the muscles more proximally and the bone most proximal (“three-stage circular cut,” 1773). Lowdham (1679), Verduyn (1696), and Langenbeck (1810) changed the operative technique in that they used a soft-tissue flap to cover the bone without tension (“flap amputation”).