Surgical technique: Knee disarticulation is a very atraumatic procedure, compared to transfemoral amputations. Neither bones nor muscles have to be severed, just skin, ligaments, vessels, and nerves. Even the meniscal cartilages may be left in place to act as axial shock absorbers.

Where is a disarticulation amputation done?

Knee Disarticulation Amputations: This amputation occurs at the level of the knee joint. If a surgeon can't perform the amputation below the knee, he or she will consider knee disarticulation, an amputation of the knee joint that leaves the femur and patella untouched and does not cut through bone or muscle.

What is knee amputation?

Above-the-knee amputations (AKA) involve removing the leg from the body by cutting through both the thigh tissue and femoral bone. This procedure may be necessary for a wide variety of reasons, such as trauma, infection, tumor, and vascular compromise.