Operation improves amputee’s mobility

Candidates are carefully screened

A STELLENBOSCH University professor is part of a collaborative team that performs a procedure which can drastically improve the lives of leg amputees.

Called an osseointegration prosthesis, the procedure was performed by the team for the first time in South Africa on November 5.

Professor Nandi Ferreira of SU’s orthopaedics division of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) was lead surgeon in a procedure done on a 28-year-old woman who had an above-knee amputation in 2009.

Since the amputation she had struggled with her socket prosthesis, which interfered with her occupation and daily activities.

Ferreira worked with the Institute for Orthopaedics and Rheumatology (IOR) at Mediclinic Winelands, prosthetist Eugene Rossouw, and Associate Professor Munjed al Muderis of the Osseointegration Group of Australia.

The procedure involved surgical implantation of the Osseointegration Group of Australia Osseointegration Prosthetic Limb (OGAP-OPL), which was originally developed in Australia by Al Muderis.

Ferreira said: “The OGAP-OPL is a revolutionary new type of prosthesis that does away with traditional suction sockets by directly attaching an amputee’s prosthetic limb to the skeleton. This affords amputees some unique advantages and can drastically transform their quality of life.”

Amputees often suffer from problems with traditional suction sockets, such as skin irritation, poor fit due to sweating and volume changes of the stump throughout the day, discomfort while sitting, and the time it takes to attach and remove a prosthesis.

These socket-related problems are eliminated with an osseointegration prosthesis because the prosthetic limb is directly attached to the skeleton.

The osseointegration prosthesis restores the normal anatomical alignment of the thigh bone (femur), which significantly reduces common gait deviations in above-knee amputees.

“Candidates are carefully screened for suitability and currently only individuals suffering from severe socket problems that significantly interfere with work and daily life are considered for this procedure,” said Ferreira.

She said the unique design, materials and manufacturing process of the OGAP-OPL allows bone to grow into the surface of the implant and therefore “integration” of the prosthesis into the skeleton.

She added that a specifically designed abutment then passes through a surgically created opening in the leg stump to create an attachment point for the external prosthetic limb component.

About 750 such surgeries have been performed, mostly in Australia.