Psychologic testing in amputation rehabilitation.

Sixty adult patients had psychologic testing following successful below- or above-knee amputation surgery. All were considered to be prosthetic candidates based on the evaluation of an experienced multidisciplinary rehabilitation team. Objective psychologic testing revealed that six (10%) had severe deficits in cognitive ability, eight (13%) had covert psychiatric illness, and three (5%) had both. A vigorous attempt at prosthetic limb fitting and gait training was made in every patient in an inpatient rehabilitation unit. Of the 17 patients (28%) who were determined to be poor candidates for prosthetic limb fitting and gait training based on objective psychologic testing, only four (6%) were capable of even minimal use of the prosthesis, and none approached their preamputation level of ambulation. Psychologic testing may play an important role in determining the rehabilitation potential of the dysvascular amputee.