PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Josephine Johnston
AU  - Carl Elliott
TI  - Healthy limb amputation: ethical and legal aspects
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.2-5-431
DP  - 2002 Sep 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 431--435
VI  - 2
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/2/5/431.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/2/5/431.full
SO  - Clin Med2002 Sep 01; 2
AB  - A surgeon in Scotland has amputated the legs of two consenting, physically healthy patients. Although a handful of medical professionals believe that the desire for healthy limb amputation is symptomatic of a mental disorder that can be treated only by amputation, there is currently no consensus on what causes a person to desire such a disabling intervention. As long as there is no established body of medical opinion as to the diagnosis and treatment of such a condition, performing the surgery may be a criminal act. Given the ethically problematic history of surgery for psychiatric conditions, as well as the absence of sound medical data on this condition, surgeons should exercise great caution before complying with a request to amputate a healthy limb.