Stewarts co-hosted a webinar on traumatic injury amputations on 11 August 2020. The expert teams from STEPS Rehabilitation, Pace Rehabilitation, and Stewarts collaborated to raise awareness about some of the key issues impacting the clinical outcomes for people who undergo an elective traumatic amputation.
The webinar focused on the medical and legal journey from accident to elective amputation, rehabilitation and beyond.
Daniel Herman, Partner and Head of Stewarts’ Leeds office, welcomed over 160 delegates to the webinar, before Scott Richardson, Business Development Manager at Pace Rehabilitation, provided his personal insight into traumatic amputation. In 2000, Scott was involved in a serious motorcycle racing accident while competing in the Isle of Man TT. As a result of his multiple injuries, his left leg was amputated below the knee. Following a lengthy but ultimately successful rehabilitation, Scott is an established prosthetic user and utilises his first-hand experiences to assist enquirers to Pace.
Elective amputations: the legal ramifications
Chris Smith, a senior associate in our Personal Injury team, gave the first talk of the afternoon. Chris’s presentation provided an overview of the litigation and rehabilitation considerations in the decision of his former client, Paul, to undergo elective amputation of his left leg, some four years after an accident at work.
The delegates heard Paul’s emotive account of how he gave serious consideration to amputating his own leg before his eventual surgery in 2017. Chris highlighted the key considerations for clients, insurers and rehabilitation providers, both pre and post amputation, and the importance of collaboration in both the litigation and rehabilitation.
Chris explained how collaborating with defendants when making such life-changing decisions can lead to earlier positive outcomes for clients, once they have decided to proceed with amputation.
Performing elective amputation
Zeeshan Sheikh, Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, gave a fascinating insight into his clinical practice and the patients he treats.
Zeeshan’s captivating presentation was not for the faint-hearted. He considered developments in surgical techniques, the good and bad of amputation surgery, and what needs to be done when things go wrong. Zeeshan noted that amputation was not a ‘silver bullet’ but the first step toward a patient’s return to a more comfortable and productive life.
In concluding his presentation, Zeeshan gave an overview of his own development of surgical techniques, with the research soon to be published.
How clinical outcomes can be improved through a multi-disciplinary approach to amputee rehabilitation
Scott Pearson, Senior Physiotherapist at STEPS Rehabilitation, spoke about STEPS’ innovative inpatient multi-disciplinary teams approach to amputee rehabilitation, using a client case study.
Stewarts’ client Luka was admitted to STEPS upon his discharge from hospital, while he was still in the recovery phase and before he could be fitted for a prosthesis. This meant that Luka was in the optimum physical condition when he was ready for fitting.
Scott spoke about Luka’s dramatic improvements during his time at STEPS and how this allowed him to develop a detailed holistic pathway, which would translate to Luka’s life as a physically active, young father, rather than other commonly used outcome measures.
The role of orthotic and prosthetic technology
In one of the highlights of the afternoon, Toby Carlsson of Pace Rehabilitation and Ollie Smith of Össur provided a live patient demonstration from the Pace clinic in Bredbury.
Toby explained the importance of involving prosthetists at an early stage, gaining an understanding of the prosthetic needs before amputation and achieving the best outcomes.
The live demonstration showcased the role the different prostheses in an amputee’s life, and while the technology will meet their activity-specific function well, no single device will do everything well.
The webinar closed with virtual networking breakout rooms, where there was great interaction between the delegates and panellists, in a relaxed, informal atmosphere.
For more information on amputation and limb loss, click here
The recording
Watch the full webinar here. (The webinar is free to view but standard registration details are required.)
Timings and agenda:
00:00:00 – 00:09:45 – Scott Richardson – Pace Rehabilitation: Introduction
00:09:46 – 00:33:12 – Chris Smith – Stewarts: Elective amputations – the legal ramifications
00:33:13 – 01:30:01 – Zeeshan Sheikh – Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust: Elective amputations
01:30:02 – 01:56:26 – Scott Pearson – STEPS Rehabilitation: how clinical outcomes can be improved through a multi-disciplinary approach to amputee rehabilitation, and educative insight using a client case study
01:56:27 – 02:27:29 – Toby Carlsson – Pace Rehabilitation: The role of orthotic and prosthetic technology, with live patient demonstrations
You can find further information regarding our expertise, experience and team on our Personal Injury pages.
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