The White Plains Hospital Limb Preservation and Restoration Program offers hope to those facing the potential loss of limbs due to chronic disease, wounds and injury. Our goal is simple: to prevent limb loss using the latest advancements and technology so that patients can regain maximum mobility, return to work and activities, and maintain their quality of life.
Our limb preservation and restoration program is one of the most robust and comprehensive in our region. Many patients come to us when they've been told elsewhere that their only option is amputation.
Conditions treated
Our experts offer hope to people who may have an increased risk of amputation due to chronic disease, wounds or injury.
Limb-threatening conditions commonly treated by our team include:
- Peripheral artery disease.
- Ischemic ulcers and wounds.
- Diabetes wounds.
- Surgical and traumatic wounds.
- Radiation wounds.
- Infections.
- Compromised surgical flaps.
- Cancer ablation wounds.
Our team approach to limb preservation and restoration
A major strength of the limb preservation and restoration program is our collaborative approach. The Hospital has specialists in many areas of medicine who work closely together to develop and deliver a state-of-the-art and personalized treatment plan for each patient.
Our team includes wound care doctors as well as experts in vascular surgery, hyperbaric medicine, infectious diseases, podiatry, orthopedics, plastic surgery, endocrinology, surgical oncology and more. Each of these specialists has unique expertise and skills that they bring to the team.
- Podiatry: Michelle Castiello and Edward Costa
- Vascular: William Suggs, Ratna Singh and Dalila White
- Orthopedics: James McWilliam
- Plastic & Reconstructive/Microsurgery: Chris Devulapalli
- Wound Care Center: Joseph Cavorsi
Our specialized treatments
As one of the most robust limb preservation and restoration programs in the region, our experts use both surgical and nonsurgical treatments, including emerging topical and biologic wound healing therapies. For advanced wound care, two hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers provide intensive, state-of-the-art healing.
All related services, including radiography, angiography, angioplasty and vascular interventions, are offered on-site in a modern, state-of-the-art setting on the 9th floor of the Center for Advanced Medicine & Surgery on the Hospital campus.
Surgical procedures we offer include:
- Vascular surgeries and angioplasty procedures to address poor blood circulation, which can prevent wound healing.
- Microvascular free-tissue transfer for lower-extremity reconstruction (also known as free flap surgery). For this procedure, experts trained in microsurgery transfer tissue from the patient’s own body to reconstruct complex wounds affecting critical structures (i.e. bones, tendons, muscles, or nerves). We have had excellent success rates performing this limb-salvaging procedure even in high-risk surgical candidates, such as people with diabetes.
- Limb-sparing procedures that remove cancer without removing the limb.
- Bone and tendon reconstructions, provided by our foot and ankle surgeons.
- Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR). This innovative nerve-transfer technique can reduce nerve pain and functional limitation in patients. Potential candidate include those with chronic neuropathy (nerve pain) in their extremity, or amputees with phantom limb pain or stump neuroma pain preventing them from wearing their prosthesis.
- Lymphedema surgeries. When patients also have lymphedema (painful swelling) in their lower limbs, we can offer relief using the latest supermicrosurgical techniques, such as lymphatico-venous bypass and vascularized lymph node transfer. These surgeries work to bypass blocked lymphatic channels and regenerate new lymphatic networks by transferring healthy lymph nodes from a distant donor site. As with free flap surgery, they are done by highly trained plastic & reconstructive surgeons using powerful microsurgical instruments and sutures thinner than a strand of hair. The hospital also offers lymphedema debulking therapy using minimally invasive liposuction technique to remove excess fat and scar tissue, and has a certified lymphedema specialist who is part of our physical rehabilitation team.
Preventing amputation
Prevention is another important component of The Hospital's limb preservation and restoration services.
Prevention starts with patient education. Dr. Castiello and Dr. Costa provide foot health exams in order to educate, diagnose, and treat conditions that put patients at high risk for amputation.