Rehabilitation after forearm/hand replantation

Abstract

Currently, the challenge of replantation of the upper limb after amputation has become an achievable and meticulously perfected reality in recent decades and is in constant evolution. The surgical option for replantation should take into account not only a comprehensive analysis of the viability of the replantation but fundamentally its potential for long-term functional recovery. We present the clinical case of a 40-year-old man, victim of a work accident, with cut trauma, which resulted in distal amputation of his right forearm. The warm ischemia time was 5 h, having been submitted to joint replantation surgery. Following the surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) was referred early, carrying out a sequential functional rehabilitation program. This work aims to emphasize the importance of the role of PMR in an early, careful, and extensive rehabilitation program, a fundamental factor in the functional recovery and long-term prognosis of these injuries and prevention of complications.

Keywords

• amputation
• forearm
• hand
• rehabilitation
• replantation