TRANSTIBIAL PROSTHESIS FOR A PATIENT WITH KAPOSIS-SARCOMA LESIONS ON THE RESIDUAL LIMB

A man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and widespread Ka posi's sarcoma (KS) presented with a transtibial amputation secondary to foot infection and intractable pain. Several open and draining KS l esions were present on the residual limb. There were two concerns: (1) prescribing a prosthesis to a person who likely had a limited future as a prosthetic user; and (2) how the lesions would tolerate pressure and shear forces in a prosthesis. There have been no previous reports of KS lesions of residual limbs. We prescribed a patellar-tendon-beari ng prosthesis with supracondylar suspension. The lesions did not worse n with weight-bearing, and healed with concomitant treatment. The pati ent remains a functional ambulator 1 year after amputation. This case suggests that KS lesions can tolerate pressure and shear forces, which is important in considering prosthetic prescriptions as well as presc riptions of orthoses and other devices. (C) 1997 by the American Congr ess of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Me dicine and Rehabilitation