Ch. 46 Amputations/ Med-surg 8th edition

A nurse is aware that a patient who is having his leg amputated is also having a prosthesis fitted during at the same time as the surgery. Which fact should the preoperative teaching plan include?

• Extra preoperative medications will be needed.

• A rigid dressing will be applied to accommodate the prosthesis.

• A series of temporary prostheses will be put in place before the permanent one.

• Wiring the residual limb will be needed to ensure acceptance of the prosthesis.

A patient asks when he should expect to be up and walking after his below-the-knee amputation. Which time period describes when the nurse should assure him that most people with amputations can fully bear weight?

• 3 weeks

• 1 month

• 6 weeks

• 3 months

A nurse is conducting a safety seminar and reminds the audience that upper extremity amputations are most frequently caused by trauma. Which population has the highest incidence of this type of amputation?

• School-aged girls

• School-aged boys

• Young men

• Young women

An 80-year-old man with diabetes has had vascular problems with his feet and lower legs for 10 years and is scheduled for a left below-the-knee amputation. Which remark by the patient indicates an understanding of the procedure?

• I am glad this amputation will end my diabetic problems.

• After they have hacked my leg, I won’t be able to drive.

• If this heals well, how long until I get a prosthesis?

• I hate that my left knee is going to be useless without a foot.

Which routine preoperative diagnostic tests are appropriate for a patient anticipating a below-the-knee amputation?

• Pulse volume recording and white blood cell (WBC) count

• Cardiac catheterization and WBC count

• Pulse volume recording and radiographic images

• Thermography and cardiac catheterization

Which site describes where the limb is severed with an elbow disarticulation?

• Just above the elbow joint

• Just below the elbow joint

• Between the shoulder and elbow

• Through the elbow joint

A patient with peripheral vascular disease (PVD) and diabetes asks what he can do to help prevent an amputation. Which of the following is the best response of the nurse?

• There is not really anything you can do to help.

• Stopping smoking would help prevent vasoconstriction.

• You will not need to check your blood glucose levels.

• It is important to eat big meals so your body can heal.

Which statement correctly identifies why a closed amputation is usually performed?

• To create a weight-bearing residual limb

• To alleviate the effects of trauma

• To allow infection to heal and drain

• To treat a limb with gangrene

What controls the movement with a myoelectrically controlled prosthesis?

• Patient’s muscle movement and the prosthesis

• Battery-operated muscles implanted in the prosthesis

• Motion-sensing mechanism that swings the prosthesis forward

• Internal computer chip in the prosthesis

A patient who had a below-the-knee amputation 24 hours earlier is complaining of burning pain in his left foot. Which intervention is most appropriate for the nurse to implement?

• Remind the patient that it is only phantom pain.

• Medicate the patient with the prescribed pain remedy.

• Remind him that such sensations will go away in a few weeks.

• Distract the patient with conversation.