Amputation above Elbow Treatment in India

Aadya Bhatia, a 28-year-old software engineer...

Aadya Bhatia, a 28-year-old software engineer and avid rock climber, was involved in a severe motorcycle accident six months ago. She suffered a complex, open fracture of her left humerus with extensive nerve and vascular damage. Despite multiple surgeries to save the limb, she developed chronic, debilitating pain (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) and a non-functional, insensate arm. The pain was so severe it prevented sleep and required high-dose opioids. Her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kapoor, recommended an above-elbow amputation as the definitive solution to relieve her intractable pain and allow her to move forward with prosthetic rehabilitation. Aadya underwent the procedure after extensive counseling. The post-operative pain was initially significant but was different and more manageable than her previous neuropathic agony. Within weeks, her phantom pain was controlled with medication and mirror therapy. She was fitted with a myoelectric prosthetic arm three months post-op. After a year of intense physiotherapy, she has returned to work, drives an adapted car, and has even taken up adaptive climbing. Emotionally, she grieved the loss deeply, feeling her identity as a climber was shattered. However, with support groups and therapy, she shifted her perspective. She now sees the amputation not as a loss of her arm, but as the regaining of her life from constant pain, embracing her new identity as a resilient adaptive athlete.