Amputation of the Foot or Toe Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Complications are rare, but no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have an amputation, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Difficulty healing

• Infection

• Stump pain (severe pain in the remaining tissue)

• Phantom limb pain (a painful sensation that the foot or toe is still there)

• Continued spread of gangrene, requiring amputation of more areas of your foot, toes, or leg

• Bleeding

• Nerve damage

• Limp (depending on which toe has been removed)

• Contracture deformity

Factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Smoking

• Infection

• Poorly controlled diabetes

• Poor blood circulation

• Bleeding disorders

• Heart problems or high blood pressure

• Smoking

• Kidney failure

• Obesity

• Advanced age

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever and chills

• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or any discharge from the incision site

• Chalky white or blackish appearance of foot, other toes, or leg

• Decreased sensation, numbness, or tingling in the rest of your foot, toes, or leg

• Nausea and/or vomiting that you cannot control with the medicines you were given after surgery, or that persist for more than one day after discharge from the hospital

• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given

• Pain, burning, urgency or frequency of urination, or blood in the urine

• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain

• Joint pain, fatigue, stiffness, rash, or other new symptoms

In case of an emergency, call 911.