Knee disarticulation provides an amputation stump that is stable, tough, and long lasting, and assures excellent muscle control of the prosthesis. The procedure is not indicated in the presence of peripheral vascular disease.
Fourteen cases are presented in which weight-bearing on the femoral condyles for from one to twenty years had not resulted in stump breakdown.
An operative technique designed to obviate the bulbousness of the lower end of the femur that is characteristic of the usual knee disarticulation is described. Six cases in which this technique was used are reported (in Case 5, partial trimming was done elsewhere).
Two types of external knee joints, the Berkeley and the Hydra Nu-Matic, incorporating friction and a swing-phase control mechanism, are described.