[3] The procedure involves separating the ulna and radius for below-elbow amputations, and in cases of congenital absence of the hand, to provide a pincerlike grasp that is motored by the pronator teres muscle.

The prerequisites for the operation are a stump over 10 cm long from the tip of the olecranon, no elbow contracture, and good psychological preparation and acceptance.

[7][8] While the Krukenberg procedure's poor cosmesis makes it very rare, it does preserve proprioception and stereognosis in the functional stump and so allows for effective maneuvering.

While the operation is rarely performed in the modern age, patients can prefer it to sophisticated prosthetics, as in one case study of a Dutch woman, reported in 2002.

She explained that being able to feel helped her a lot in her tasks... an excellent functional result was obtained, from both the surgical and the rehabilitation point of view.