01
Therapy
θεραπεία · therapeía
Coordinated, multidisciplinary treatment for the most complex limb-threatening injuries and disease, with the patient at the center.
Volumen · IFounded MMXXVOrbis Terrarum
An International Medical Society
Orthoplastic Limb
Preservation Society
A worldwide body of orthopedic, plastic, podiatric, and vascular surgeons, convened around the most complex problem in reconstructive medicine.
θεραπεία · γνῶσις · δεξιότης · τέχνη · ἐπιστήμη
Orthopedic·Plastic·Podiatric·Vascular·Wound Care
I · Foreword
“The limb in crisis demands a physician whose training has crossed the conventional boundaries of specialty. We exist to convene, credential, and celebrate those surgeons.”
From the Founding Charter
MMXXV
II · The Problem
The scale of the problem.
Limb-threatening disease is a global epidemic. The Society exists to reduce the distance between that diagnosis and a preserved, functional limb.
1.5M+
Annual Major Amputations
Performed globally each year — the majority considered preventable with earlier, multidisciplinary intervention.
85%
Diabetic Amputations
Of all non-traumatic lower-limb amputations worldwide trace to diabetic complications.
5
Specialties Convened
Orthopedic, plastic, podiatric, vascular, and wound-care disciplines working in a single forum.
∞
Cases Yet to Be Written
The published record of limb preservation remains a fraction of the cases performed. The Society addresses this.
Sources to be cited on publication
III · A Statement of Purpose
Where once the amputation was accepted, we ask: can it be saved? Where once a single discipline was sufficient, we insist on the team. Where once outcomes were unexamined, we commit to the registry, the follow-up, and the published case.
The Orthoplastic Limb Preservation Society is a professional body organized around this question — drawing from orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, podiatric medicine, vascular surgery, and wound care, and inviting its members to practice at the intersection of all five.
θεραπεία · γνῶσις · δεξιότης · τέχνη · ἐπιστήμη
IV · Case in Point
A limb is not a diagnosis.
It is a life, reconfigured.
Preservation is not a single operation. It is a sequence — revascularization, débridement, osteosynthesis, soft-tissue coverage, supervised recovery, and long-term follow-up — each step requiring a different trained hand.
The Society is the institutional form of this collaboration.
i. Articulation
Reconstruction of the joint and bony architecture.
ii. Vascular Supply
Restoration of perfusion to the reconstructed segment.
iii. Soft Tissue
Coverage that preserves form and enables function.
iv. Preservation
The measurable, durable outcome — the saved limb.
Plate I · A diagrammatic abstraction of the reconstructed limb
V · The Five Principles
Drawn from the origins of the healing arts.
02
Knowledge
γνῶσις · gnósis
Curated research, case material, and guidelines drawn from the world's leading orthoplastic centers, made available to members.
03
Skill
δεξιότης · dexiótis
Recognition of surgical excellence and mentorship that cultivates the next generation of limb preservation specialists.
04
Art
τέχνη · téchne
A commitment to the craft of reconstruction — where precision, judgment, and aesthetic restoration preserve form alongside function.
05
Science
ἐπιστήμη · epistḗme
Rigorous, evidence-based practice and collaborative research that generate the outcomes data the field requires.
VI · A Letter
From the Founding Board.
Drafted on the occasion of the Society’s inauguration, addressed to surgeons, trainees, and the patients they serve.
A generation ago, the loss of a limb to trauma or disease was treated as an inevitability — a failure to be managed rather than a failure to be prevented. The operation that followed was described, tellingly, as a procedure of last resort.
That framing is no longer tenable. Advances across five specialties — vascularized bone transfer, microsurgical free flap, endovascular revascularization, dynamic external fixation, and evidence-based wound management — have made preservation possible in cases once deemed impossible. What remains is to practice these techniques not as heroic exceptions but as standards, and to teach them to the next generation of surgeons not as electives but as core expectations of their training.
The Orthoplastic Limb Preservation Society exists for this purpose. We are a credentialing body. We are a publisher. We are a forum. Above all, we are a society of colleagues who believe that the preservation of the human limb is a worthy pursuit — one whose outcomes should be measured, disseminated, and, where possible, improved.
We invite you to join us.
The Founding Board · MMXXV
VII · The Journal · Forthcoming MMXXVI
The Journal of Orthoplastic
Limb Preservation.
An open-access, peer-reviewed quarterly publishing original research, technical notes, and long-form case material in orthoplastic reconstruction. Inaugural issue expected 2026.
VIII · For Patients & Families
Connect to a specialist near you.
The Society maintains a referral service for patients and families facing limb-threatening injury or disease. Submit your location and condition and we will help connect you with a member surgeon trained in the orthoplastic approach.
A Referral Service
“If you or a loved one has been told amputation is the only option, a second opinion from an orthoplastic specialist may open doors that first appeared closed.”
Educational only — not medical advice.
IX · Chronicle
A young society with a settled purpose.
MMXXV
Foundation
The Orthoplastic Limb Preservation Society is convened by a founding board of four, ratifying the charter and admitting the first cohort of charter members.
MMXXVI
Inaugural Congress
The first World Orthoplastic Congress is scheduled to convene, gathering members, trainees, and invited faculty for the Society's principal annual meeting.
MMXXVI
Journal Launch
The inaugural issue of the Journal of Orthoplastic Limb Preservation is expected — an open-access, peer-reviewed quarterly of record for the field.
MMXXVII →
The Decade Ahead
A ten-year program of credentialing, publication, and international outreach, with the aim of establishing orthoplastic limb preservation as a recognized subspecialty worldwide.
X · Membership
Join a society of peers.
Membership is by application and is open to practicing surgeons, physicians-in-training, and allied professionals who contribute to the field of orthoplastic limb preservation.
01
International Peer Network
Direct collaboration with surgeons across six continents advancing limb salvage in both established and emerging tertiary centers.
02
Member-Only Case Forum
Share complex reconstructions, seek second opinions, and access curated discussion threads reserved for credentialed members.
03
Recognition & Credentialing
Be recognized as a leader by the foremost international society in orthoplastic limb preservation.
04
Annual Congress Access
Priority registration and speaker consideration for the World Orthoplastic Congress, convening annually beginning 2026.
05
Journal Privileges
Early access, reduced article processing charges, and editorial consideration for the forthcoming Journal of Orthoplastic Limb Preservation.
Preserving limbs through knowledge, skill, art & science.
θεραπεία · γνῶσις · δεξιότης · τέχνη · ἐπιστήμη
Est. MMXXV