The amputation of a limb has a huge vital impact on the patient who suffers it. The loss of the limb, in addition to the logical psychological affectation and the alteration of the body image that it entails, affects the mobility of the patient, his quality of life and his participation in daily activities. The need to use a socket to connect the amputation stump to the artificial leg is very inconvenient, especially in femoral amputees, often leading to the impossibility of using it.
These problems have led to a huge research effort in the development of new techniques to connect the artificial prosthetic implant directly to the patient’s skeleton, thus avoiding the need to use a socket. Osseointegration is one of these revolutionary technologies.
The application of osseointegration in the field of amputee patients has dramatically improved the quality of life of these patients by eliminating the need of sockets.
History
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The first procedures for lower limb amputees were done in 1990. The surgery was performed in two stages. In the first surgery, an intramedullary implant was introduced followed by a 6–8 month rest period. In the second surgery, an incision was made in the stump to insert the external components and shape the stoma. At the end of the second surgery, the rehabilitation process began.
© Osseointegration Group of Australia
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In 2014 the Osseointegration Group of Australia (GOA) led by Dr. Munjed Almuderis modified the surgical technique, adapting the rehabilitation process and designing a new implant that facilitates osseointegration in a single surgery, improving results. This single surgical intervention allows you to avoid the risks associated with multiple surgeries, shorten the rehabilitation process and save costs. With this procedure, the patient is able to walk with his prosthesis in 6-8 weeks.
© Osseointegration Group of Australia
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Today the Osseointegration Group of Australia (GOA) is a world leader with more than 800 successful cases in more than 20 countries. In 2020, a close collaboration began between Dr. Munjed Almuderis and Dr. Pablo Corona from Hospital Vall D’Hebron. In 2021 GOE Grupo Osteointegración de España is born, as an exclusive collaborator of the Osseointegration Group of Australia in Spain.
Dr. Kevin Tetsworth, Dr. Pablo Corona, Dr. Munjed Al Muderis
Benefits
Osseointegration allows a direct connection between the bone and the exoprosthesis, eliminating the need of traditional socket. Among the benefits it offers are:
Avoid chafing, sweating and discomfort of the traditional socket and liner.
Easy and fast connection between stump and prosthesis.
Direct mechanical control of the limb.
Improved proprioception (osseoperception).
More natural gait and posture.
Candidates
Candidates for osseointegration procedure are non-vascular femoral amputees with problems or impossibility to use the traditional socket and who do not have contraindications (smoker, vascular pathology, poorly controlled diabetes).
Tibial amputees with severe socket problems are also candidates for osseointegration.
Surgical Procedure
Osseointegration surgery is based on a relatively simple surgical procedure, where a titanium implant is retrogradely inserted into the bone of the residual stump; this implant comes out through a hole in the distal skin of the stump (stoma). The artificial limb (exoprosthesis) is easily attached to this implant through a universal connector.