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Dec 2020
Pioneering computer ‘printed’ implant could help complex leg fractures that previously led to amputation
A pioneering implant to treat complicated leg fractures can help challenging cases that until now may have led to amputation.
Alex Trompeter, a consultant orthopaedic trauma and limb reconstruction surgeon at St George’s University Hospital in London, said “When a patient suffers a complex fracture, we normally try to pin the bone in place and carry out skin grafts. However, 20-30 per cent of those with this type of injury suffer an infection, a non-union, or both.
“One option is to have the bone unhealed, but that’s only for not very mobile, elderly patients. About 5 per cent of these cases result in amputation. Another option is a bone graft, preferably using bone from the patient, called an autograft, to fill the gap between the bones.
“The final option is bone transport, where the bone is broken above the level of the damaged bone and slowly pulled down towards it, so obliterating the defect. New bone forms to fix the intentional break. But this involves having a steel cage around the leg for months.
“We now have another option, which involves cutting away the ‘bad’ bone at the bottom of the shin and filling that gap with a bespoke cage-like implant that is then filled with bone harvested from the thigh.
“The main advantage is it’s a much quicker recovery, patients could be walking within a fortnight. After a normal bone graft it can be six weeks before they can put weight on it and they need a cage in place for months.”
A 2018 study for the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society of 15 patients had a success rate of 87 per cent.
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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.
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