Disorders in the stumps of amputee patients: MR imaging

Amputations have been-and will remain-common surgical procedures. When assessing the cause of pain at a stump after limb amputation, one may consider several different etiologies. The most common postamputation stump complications observed in our experience have been bursitis, cellulitis, abscess, osteomyelitis, neuroma, and recurrent tumor. MR imaging not only suggests these diagnoses but also allows these pathologic processes to be precisely localized and their extent to be defined.