[Do We Need an Amputee Outpatient Clinic? How Innovations Promote Interdisciplinarity in Amputation Medicine]

Amputation of a limb is often a necessary, yet irreversible surgical procedure with complex functional, psychosocial, and medical consequences. Comorbidities and concomitant injuries frequently complicate both treatment and rehabilitation. At the same time, modern surgical and technological advances offer new possibilities, while also increasing the demands on comprehensive care. In response, we established an interdisciplinary consultation service to support the multiprofessional care of amputees at our university hospital.A specialized interdisciplinary clinic was established at a German tertiary university medical centre. Its objectives include the structured assessment of amputation indications, quality assurance of orthopaedic-plastic surgical procedures, and holistic post-amputation care addressing functional, psychosocial, and prosthetic aspects. Over a 12-month observation period, we systematically recorded and analysed consultation parameters such as the number of visits, reasons for presentation, and patient and amputation demographics.A total of 474 consultations involving 183 individual patients were documented. Most cases concerned the lower extremity (86.25%), with 13.75% involving the upper extremity. The patient cohort consisted of 63.9% male (n=117) and 36.1% female patients (n=66), with a median age of 55.2±20 years. The most frequent causes of amputation were acute trauma (n=74; 45.7%), vascular diseases (n=24; 14.8%), and infections/sepsis (n=22; 13.6%). The main reasons for presentation were standard follow-up assessments (n=49; 23.1%), postoperative wound checks (n=39; 18.4%), and prosthetic counselling (n=30; 14.2%).The irreversible and multifaceted consequences of amputation require a high level of medical, therapeutic, and socio-medical coordination. Interdisciplinary care models are well established in the management of complex chronic diseases. This approach to amputee care represents a necessary paradigm shift, enabling us to meet the multidimensional needs of this patient population through integrated, patient-centred treatment.