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Post by Kenny1022 on Sept 19, 2021 22:56:02 GMT -7
Hello Everyone, A little bit about my story I originally had a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula back in 1975, which resulted in loss of bone and a one and a half inch difference in my right leg length. Fast forward to 2019 having so much arthritic pain in my foot and leg I decided to see an Orthopedic surgeon to possibly reduce some of the intense pain I was enduring on a daily basis. The Ortho surgeon told me of a procedure that could extend or lengthen my leg and I thought why not! I could finally wear a normal pair of shoes and not a build up on my right leg, well almost 19months later my bone had grown wearing a halo device, however once the halo was removed it was found that the bone never hardened! So being very very frustrated and down right furious I decided to amputate. So here I am three weeks post surgery of my right leg below the knee, I think everyone refers to it as a BK. I’m currently healing and waiting to be fitted to a permanent prosthesis and am very anxious to get going. Any suggestions, words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated thank you!
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Post by stonecutter on Sept 20, 2021 12:05:18 GMT -7
Hi Kenny, welcome to the 'some assembly required' club. Sorry to hear of your adventures, but glad it brought you to introduce yourself to us.
I'm a left BK since June 1994.
What I can offer you is this:
- it'll be an adjustment. - It'll take time to get used to your new normal. - Don't push yourself too hard - take it easy when you get up and walking. - LISTEN to your prosthetist! - Pay attention to the skin on your stump. Check it often, especially when it's new. If you see red marks, blemishes or blistering, adjustments are required. Remember - you are soft and squishy. A prosthesis is hard and not squishy. So they have to make it fit the soft and squishy things or you aren't going to be a happy camper. - some family or friends who haven't seen the new you might take some time to adjust.
As far as this forum goes, please feel free to poke around and explore any thread. If you have something to say or something to ask - feel free to do so - there's no dumb questions and no thread is too old to be revived.
Thanks for coming in!
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Post by Kenny1022 on Sept 21, 2021 0:24:42 GMT -7
Thank you Trevor, I’m wondering how long it takes to be fitted for my new leg?
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Post by stonecutter on Sept 21, 2021 10:54:16 GMT -7
It kind of depends on how they build them. When I got my first leg, they would take a plaster cast of my stump and then use that cast to make a model of my stump. They would then use that to build the socket. It used to take a week or two to get to something I could wear and walk with.
My latest socket (circa 2013): they put all these little reflective dots on my stump and make a computer model of it and use that to feed a CNC machine who makes the model of the stump. And they use that to make the socket.
The last I saw was that they actually bypass making a model of the stump now and do design the socket on a computerized model. The would then 3d print the socket.
So with each of these advancements, they were making the process simpler with respect to hands-on labour. So given that I am at 8 years on my current rig, and tech is moving so fast, I can't comment on what the wait time is from scanning to walking anymore. Maybe someone else has some insight to share?
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