31yo BK elective amp

[primedin]

Hey everyone,

New guy here, trying to find out some information about what’s available to me. I was doing some overseas work and got shot 4 times, breaking my tib and fib in my right leg and almost totally destroying my left ankle. I’ve been doing the limb salvage thing for a year, just to give it a shot, and recently I’ve told my docs that I want to go through with the amputation. The left ankle is definitely coming off, and right now we’re 50/50 on the right leg.

Before the injury, like most of you I’m sure, I was in great shape and had a very, very active outdoors lifestyle. I’ve already been told I will be getting a Ewing/Biom device, but I’m also hearing from numerous people that OI is a great way to go. Does anyone have any experience with BK OI? Are you able to run? Any input at all is appreciated.

[snowyh]

Hello, "new guy", welcome to the forum! The only person I know personally with OI (osseointegration) is a high-level arm amputee* who went to Sweden before the surgery was available in the USA, so I'm not gonna be much help with your question. Researching online didn't yield much information, either. But here's a good website with general information and a PHONE # TO CALL WITH QUESTIONS that may be of some help: www.hss.edu/condition-list_osseointegration.asp

My gut feeling is that putting that kind of stress on an OI prosthesis would be inviting problems, but I'm pretty timid...

Helen

*he loves it, BTW

[cherylm]

I know of one guy who went through OI several years ago. If I remember correctly, he was a BK amp...and in the end he did wind up loving the result of the OI procedure. However, it DID take him an extraordinarily long time for the procedure to fully "take" and the pin to become stable enough to support his desired activity level. (Again, I'm depending on my memory here, but I'm fairly sure that it was five to six YEARS before he was "fully healed and stabilized." However, again, in the end he loved the result.

All of this is from far in my past, so the procedure for an OI pin insertion may have improved greatly in the interim...lord knows that everything else in the amputee world has changed greatly in the 15 years that I've been part of the amp community. But DO go into great detail with regard to the timelines for healing before making a final decision. Good luck to you, and keep us posted on your progress!

[stonecutter]

We are talking about it here in Canada where the focus is on AK first (rightly so) rather than BK. I am told it will be a thing in the future here for BKs. Honestly, when we talk about it, the idea of it creeps me the F out, but I can certainly see the pros likely outweigh the cons.