Can you have some or all your limbs amputated voluntarily if there is nothing wrong with them?

No, not by a member of the medical profession.

do you want a bionic dong??

Sure just call Chuck Norris!

Primus non nocere.

Well what possible arm could come of it?

Sure, just insult my partner when she has a chainsaw in her hands. You probably won’t get a choice about what body part you lose though.

Ooops, that should have been Primum.

The medical ethics issues of such a request would not permit any reputable surgeon to comply or even assist in such a procedure.

What made you even consider such a thing? Do you have something you want to discuss?

@Dr_Lawrence well we are discussing what I want to discuss :)

You’ve got olympic athletes. I think that its becoming relevant as science blossoms. If I can have a better arm, or arms eventually, well why shouldn’t I?

What if a new occupation arises where having no limbs actually makes you more apt. Maybe piloting something into outerspace….idk…

I don’t have negative feelings about my limbs, or myself, doc.

I do have this clicking around my left shoulder…if I move my neck and arm a certain way…

I’ll pass on the psych eval. But if you want to diagnose my arm thing…that’s cool.

Not in the US.

@ChazMaz well I know of women who have the propensity for breast cancer, who have had their perfectly good breasts preemptively removed.

This is a sort of voluntary limb-ectomy isn’t it! Should such women have to wait for a sign of a problem?

There is enough evidence to show a strong genetic link to breast cancer. If the family history is there to support it. A a doctor will see a medical reason for it.

Without reason, removing the arms would be mutilation. Very unethical. But… There are doctors in some countries that are more about making a buck and the value of human life takes on another form.

That is why people go out of the USA in order to have procedures done that we here do not approve of.

I am pretty sure if you travel to the middle east you can have this done, I’m not joking.

yeah, just steal something, don’t they judochop your hand for that?

But… Why?!!

My ex would do it. He gets bored Very easily.

As mentioned, no ethical surgeon would even consider dong this.

I do think, clearly, that some serious mental health issues are at hand for anyone that wishes to voluntarily mutilate themselves. Jeez…whatta world, whatta world….lol

This has always fascinated me.

Come ti think of it, it was always on my to-do list! Thanks for bringing it up!

Yea, that along with a penis enlargement.

@tinyfaery I was going to mention BIID. Why am I not surprised that you were the person who beat me to it? ♥!

Actually, yes, it is possible. Doctors tend to refer you to psychiatrists, first, but there exist some that may do it, and there is are people who want this done. Some tend to report that they just don’t feel right with part of their body, and would feel better with it removed. I watched a whole television documentary about this some years ago.

Here is an article about a Scottish doctor who performed some voluntary amputations.

Here is one article about people who want this done and the history of medical science trying to understand why.

Here is a general article about the moral issues around this sort of thing.

A good surgeon can fix the clickin in your shoulder and you can keep your arm.

@Zaku fascinating…

I think I’d get rid of an arm or a leg before a kidney, for donation. It seems less detrimental.

@Ltryptophan Of course we can and do discuss all kinds of things and if you are not suffering from some sort of dismorphia, then you don’t have me worried.

Hey @Dr_Lawrence what about my shoulder clik…hey…

Donation of a kidney is still on medical grounds even if it’s someoen else’s. The only other parts of your anatomy I can think of that you can legally have removed on a voluntary basis are genitals, reproductive organs and breasts. I suspect that arguments in favour of surgery for transsexuals are used by people who want to have limbs voluntarily amputated.

No, but how about your head?

@Ltryptophan I too have shoulder problems but I am neither an MD or and orthopaedic surgeon. I suggest you find one of the latter.

hm…k @Dr_Lawrence

mum says it is a rotator cough misalignment.

I’m sure if you went to a third country world with a stack of money, you could find some surgeon who would amputate your limbs. There is probably a doctor in a second or first world country who would do this for you. But my gosh, the complications you would face would be astounding, both in terms of recovering from the surgery as well as learning to live without limb(s) and explaining what happened to family and friends. However if it made you happy, I’m sure you would find ways around the complications.