Limb lengthening surgery has come a long way since the days of the first procedures that took place in the early 1950's. What a ground-breaking idea it was to lengthen limbs. This surgery meant freedom for people who were afflicted with crippling disabilities. For those who had suffered the debilitating disease of polio - to congenital limb defects or dwarfism, the hope of having straight, longer limbs was a God-send.
With the invention of the external fixator by an orthopedic surgeon from Russia, it manually pulled apart the patient's bone to increase height. This procedure was successfully used during WWII, for veterans who had leg fractures that would not heal.
The surgery
Leg lengthening surgery is done by cutting the bone and over
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Bone infection can be as serious condition where bacterial invades the bone. This can be through the bloodstream or by the bacteria entering through the outer surface of the leg. Left untreated, or if the bacteria does not respond to other treatment, damage to the local blood supply may occur. Certain disease processes can contribute to the likelihood and seriousness of bone infection. If the infection is treated unsuccessfully by other means, surgery may be recommended. The infected area of bone is where the cut is made and the infected area removed.
Cerebral palsy. In some cases, those who suffer from cerebral palsy are able to gain additional mobility when they make the decision for leg lengthening surgery. This procedure can improve the patient's well-being and ability for movement.
Congenital defect. Congenital defects can be corrected or improved by a leg lengthening surgical process. When a congenital defect results in a shorter limb, surgery is the only successful method of treatment to lengthen it. Leg lengthening surgery is the procedure of choice to achieve equalization of limbs.
Dwarfism. Extremely short limbs and bowed legs can make it difficult for people to perform daily tasks. Leg lengthening surgery can not only help straighten legs but also add inches that will make daily routines easier to help them lead more normal
Strange as that this may sound, when a Wannabee person lose a limb they are actually gaining so much more of who they felt they are. As one Amputee said to his doctor “you have made me the happiest of all men by taking away from me a limb which put an invincible obstacle to my
Recent research has been focused on distinguishing the most successful augmentation surgery for restoring deficient bone (4, 16-18). Surgical techniques and survival of the bone graft has been vastly highlighted in the literature. ,However, the importance of recipient site on success rate of augmentation procedure has been less issued (16).
, from which time we have evidence of crude devices being made to replace a missing lower leg. These consisted of metal plates being hammered over a wooden core, which was then strapped to the stump of the remaining leg. These very early prostheses were usually made by blacksmiths, armor
“Surgery.” Brought to Life Exploring the History of Medicine. Science Museum, London, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Today, prosthetics have significantly advanced. In 1946, there was a major advancement in the attachment of the lower limb (Bells para 3). A suction socket was made for above-the-knee prosthesis (Bells para 3). This suction socket was created in Berkeley, California at the University of California (Bells para 3). In 1975, Ysidro M. Martinez invented a below-the-knee prosthesis for himself (Bells para 3)....
This program was put in place to restore natural limb function to war veterans who suffered limb amputations during battle. At that time, prosthetic technology was not very sophisticated. Upper-limb technology was far behind lower-limb technology and was supposedly more difficult to advance.2 Creating an upper-limb prosthesis that could mimic the human arm seemed to be an impossible feat. This arm had to look, feel, weigh, and perform exactly like a human arm. Scientists and engineers worldwide had to put strenuous amounts of time into figuring out what materials to use and how to use them properly to make it. It became a multimillion dollar project which had people competing to see who could come up with the better prosthetic
Imagine how much harder everyday life would be with a metal stub attached to where your limb was supposed to be. This is the everyday life of amputees. Throughout the United States there are nearly 2 million people with amputations. Prosthetics are a type of design that has allowed limbless people to function, by attaching a metal device to the needed socket. The device can help the person move and regain partial function in the missing limb. Research has gone into medicine to improve these procedures so people can regain function and stability. Unfortunately there is no special cure or magic that can automatically regrow ones personal limb. But, medicine and research is getting there. Fortunately there are an array of options science is experimenting with regarding limb replacement. Although while analyzing the different positions it’s a complicated decision to pick the “best” option. With improvements to prosthetics and new regenerative medicine, our world is making big decisions regarding these new technological advances. But, could there ever be a time where humans could regrow a limb? Or should we stick to the alternative we know is safe and works.. Prosthetics? Ultimately our world is forced to focus on the main question, what is the best possible way to help those who have lost a limb?
A wannabe amputee is a person who says they need to remove a healthy appendage to become an amputee to satisfy their desired self-perception. Bayne and Levy go into the psychological aspect of this desire. Bayne and Levy express that wannabe amputees experience the ill effects of at least one of the accompanying mental issue; Body Dysmorphic Disorder, apotemnophilia, and Body Integrity Identity Disorder. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a mental issue in which a person ends up fixated on nonexistent imperfections in their appearance. Apotemnophilia is the point at which a person is sexually excited by amputees and the prospect of turning into an amputee themselves. Body Integrity Identity Disorder is the point at which a person feels as though one of their appendages isn't really theirs and wishes to expel it from their body. With BIID comes two variations that would-be amputees experience the ill effects of; body schema and body image. Body schema is the collection of processes that registers the posture of one’s body parts. For instance how you put your foot down when you walk or gripping an object you’re picking up. Body image is the psychological picture of one's own body. The one that Bayne and Levy surmise that wannabe amputees don't suffer from body schemas
The two controversial topics discussed below share a single goal: to enhance the quality of life of a human individual. The first topic, transhumanism, is a largely theoretical movement that involves the advancement of the human body through scientific augmentations of existing human systems. This includes a wide variety of applications, such as neuropharmacology to enhance the function of the human brain, biomechanical interfaces to allow the human muscles to vastly out-perform their unmodified colleagues, and numerous attempts to greatly extend, perhaps indefinitely, the human lifespan. While transhumanist discussion is predominantly a thinking exercise, it brings up many important ethical dilemmas that may face human society much sooner than the advancements transhumanism desires to bring into reality. The second topic, elective removal of healthy limbs at the request of the patient, carries much more immediate gravity. Sufferers of a mental condition known as Body Integrity Identity Disorder seek to put to rest the disturbing disconnect between their internal body image and their external body composition. This issue is often clouded by sensationalism and controversy in the media, and is therefore rarely discussed in a productive manner (Bridy). This lack of discussion halts progress and potentially limits citizens' rights, as legislation is enacted without sufficient research. The primary arguments against each topic are surprisingly similar; an expansion on both transhumanism and elective amputation follows, along with a discussion of the merit of those arguments. The reader will see how limits placed on both transhumanism and elective amputation cause more harm to whole of human society than good.
Without surgery and advanced medicine in the 21st century, many lives would be lost to preventable medical conditions and infectious disease. If one was to ask every person who walked down a street in an hour time period, most would say they have had some type of surgery in their lifetime. Surgery has evolved since prehistoric medicine. Looking at surgery from before the common era, research has turned to sources such as skeletons, cave painting, or artifacts (Dobanovacki, et al 28). Trephination is the oldest known surgery. It was used to release the spirit within individuals who were suffering from epilepsy, mental disease, and headaches (Dobanovacki, et al 28). Circumcision and the use of ants to suture wounds were also known surgical practices in B.C.E. (Dobanovacki, et al 29). Surgery varied to great degrees from civilization to civilization. Different practices were carried over into the next civilization. In the article “Surgery Before Common Era”, these practices are explained in great detail regarding how they evolved and where the originated from if the place of origin is different than the civilization that is being discussed.
This can relieve pain and help reduce the risk of fractures.Your doctor may recommend surgery in order to: Correct a deformity, Correct a difference in limb lengths, Fix a fracture remove an affected area of bone that's causing you difficulty Relieve pressure on a nerve, particularly if the lesion is in your skull or face. Surgery may involve removing the bone lesion and replacing it with bone grafted from another part of your body or from bone tissue donated from deceased donor. Your surgeon may insert metal plates, rods or screws to stabilize the bone and the graft. Risks include infection, blood clots and bleeding. In addition, a bone graft may not
The fibula is a leg bone located on the lateral side of the tibia, with which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones, and the slenderest of all the long bones, and plays a significant role in stabilizing the ankle and supporting the muscles of the lower leg. The fibula is the smaller, non-weight bearing, of the two bones in the lower leg, while the tibia is the larger, weight bearing bone. The fibula and tibia moves very little relative to each other and the joints that it forms contribute significantly to the function of the lower leg. The joint it forms permit the fibula to adjust its position relative to the tibia, increasing the range of motion of the ankle. Fibular fractures are not often a severe injury, because the bone is supports only about 17% of the body weight.
Infants with congenital limb deficiency can be fit with a prosthesis around 3 months of age and begin accepting it as part of their body image. For upper limb amputation fitting with prosthesis starts early at age 3 months to assist weight bearing with prone and 5 and 7 months when the child is able to sit independently. Early prosthesis fitting assists the child to achieve fine motor skills and playing skills while sitting or prone. Fitting and assessing all function Parent instructions is given at first session. The initial goal is to make the infants and toddler wear the prosthesis more hours during the day as much as possible comfortably.
Mobility grants opportunity and lifelong experiences through the gift of exploration and independence. Without autonomy of movement in one’s life, there are struggles accompanied by frustration do to the lack of freedom and ability. It is an orthopedic surgeon’s job to bring function to one’s life even if they have never been granted movement without restraint before. Orthopedic surgeons receive patients whose freedom of movement have been compromised and then return it back to them. Orthopedic surgeons give immeasurable opportunities and life experiences back to their patients because of their perseverance and commitment to their patients and careers.
Prosthetic limbs, one of the examples of physical enhancement, have improved to such an extent that the capabilities and...