amputation of the teeth (dental avulsion). Removal of teeth, mainly incisors, is or was practiced by some cultures for ritual purposes (for instance in the Iberomaurusian culture of Neolithic North Africa). Breasts:
amputation of the breasts (mastectomy). Genitals:
amputation of the testicles (castration). amputation of the penis (penectomy). amputation of the foreskin (circumcision). amputation of the clitoris (clitoridectomy).Hemicorporectomy, or amputation at the waist, and decapitation, or amputation at the neck, are the most radical amputations. Genital modification and mutilation may involve amputating tissue, although not necessarily as a result of injury or disease. Self-amputation
In some rare cases when a person has become trapped in a deserted place, with no means of communication or hope of rescue, the victim has amputated his or her own limb. The most notable case of this is Aron Ralston, a hiker who amputated his own right forearm after it was pinned by a boulder in a hiking accident and he was unable to free himself for over five days.Body integrity identity disorder is a psychological condition in which an individual feels compelled to remove one or more of their body parts, usually a limb. In some cases, that individual may take drastic measures to remove the offending appendages, either by causing irreparable damage to the limb so that medical intervention cannot save the limb, or by causing the limb to be severed.
Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventive surgery for such problems. A special case is that of congenital amputation, a congenital disorder, where fetal limbs have been cut off by constrictive bands. In some countries, amputation is currently used to punish people who commit crimes. Amputation has also been used as a tactic in war and acts of terrorism; it may also occur as a war injury. In some cultures and religions, minor amputations or mutilations are considered a ritual accomplishment. When done by a person, the person executing the amputation is an amputator.In the US, the majority of new amputations occur due to complications of the vascular system (the blood vessels), especially from diabetes. Between 1988 and 1996, there were an average of 133,735 hospital discharges for amputation per year in the US. In 2005, just in the US, there were 1.6 million amputees. In 2013, the US had 2.1 million amputees. Approximately 185,000 amputations occur in the United States each year. In 2009, hospital costs associated with amputation totaled more than $8.3 billion. There will be an estimated 3.6 million people in the US living with limb loss by 2025. Types
Leg
Lower limb amputations can be divided into two broad categories: minor and major amputations.