Apotemnophilia

Apotemnophilia (from Greek αποτέμνειν "to cut off") or amputation fetish is the overwhelming desire to amputate one or more healthy limbs. Some authorities hold that the condition is often sexual in origin.

A person with apotemnophilia wants his or her own limbs cut off. In contrast, a person suffering from acrotomophilia is attracted to other persons who are already missing limbs. In some cases, a person may pursue amputations for sexual excitement or orgasm.

Very few surgeons will treat apotemnophilia patients by giving them what they want, with the exception of circumcision. There are hence several recorded cases of sufferers resorting to self-amputation of a "superfluous" limb, for example by allowing a train to run over it. Often the obsession is with one specific limb, with patients "not feeling complete while they still have a left leg", for example. The condition is usually treated as a psychiatric disorder.

Many view the circumcision fetish as a form of apotemnophilia, particularly in the case of an adult male being voluntarily circumcised. Some cultures practice rituals, often voluntary, involving removal of body parts, in many cases this involves the sex organs.

See also

• acrotomophilia
• body dysmorphic disorder
• genital modification and mutilation

External links

• The Apotemnophile