Orthoplastic Limb Salvage Center
Orthoplastic surgery for amputation prevention and limb optimization
As the only program of its kind in the nation, the Penn Orthoplastic Limb Salvage Center offers expert trauma and fracture care for patients at high risk of amputation or in need of limb optimization. Here, patients have access to surgeons who are internationally renowned for their expertise in advanced techniques that are revolutionizing limb preservation, reconstruction, and optimization, especially in cases of complex trauma. Penn Medicine surgeons performed the first robotic microsurgical case in the country, increasing the precision of these procedures.
Orthoplastic surgery is a field that combines principles and practices of both orthopaedics and plastic surgery to treat patients with complex injuries. Orthopaedic surgery’s focus on the treatment of bone, muscle, and joint conditions, combined with plastic surgery’s focus on the treatment of soft tissue conditions, provides optimal care for patients in need of advanced limb surgery. Our team also includes vascular surgeons, reconstructive microsurgeons, and other specialists who collaborate to provide critical expertise from each of their specialties.
Our approach to limb reconstruction and restoration
Limb preservation surgery, also known as limb salvage, aims to prevent amputation by restoring or improving function in damaged limbs, helping patients return to normal life. Certain fractures, like open fractures or those with severe tissue or bone damage, may increase the risk of amputation.
Led by limb salvage surgeons and a team of specialists, Penn Medicine’s limb salvage program provides integrated treatment for severe injuries. We also focus on minimizing scars and deformities to address aesthetic concerns. We treat patients from around the world and work closely with referring doctors for smooth care transitions and follow-up. Using a shared decision-making approach, we work to ensure that patients and their families are fully informed about the injury, surgical options, and rehabilitation, allowing them to choose the best path forward.
Advanced limb surgery
Penn Medicine surgeons are internationally renowned for their expertise in advanced techniques involved in limb preservation, especially in cases of complex trauma. Certain fractures, like open fractures, those with severe tissue or bone damage, and those that lead to a loss of blood supply to the limb, may increase the risk of amputation. Limb preservation surgery, also known as limb salvage, aims to prevent amputation by restoring or improving function in damaged limbs, helping patients return to normal life.
For those who previously received limb surgery for a traumatic injury but are experiencing pain, deformity, or functional limitations, we offer limb optimization surgery. We are one of the few programs in the world performing bilateral hand transplants to help double-arm and double-hand amputee patients regain mobility and independence.
We also provide limb lengthening surgery to correct limb length discrepancies as a result of congenital deformities, traumatic events, cancer, and short statures.
When surgery is possible and advised, our specialists perform orthoplastic surgery, microvascular techniques, and skeletal stabilization—among other complex procedures as needed—to preserve limbs and optimize function while reducing scarring and deformity.
We offer: