Doctors in the Orthopaedic Department at BC Children’s Hospital are celebrating the success of technology that has allowed them to lengthen the limbs of 30 patients.
Thirteen-year-old Michaela Ironside was one of the first to undergo surgery in the province. Born with bowing of her left tibia, Ironside’s right leg eventually grew seven centimetres longer than the left.
“In dance, I felt really awkward because I was lopsided, and it just didn’t look that good,” Ironside said.
In 2014, doctors broke her bone and connected her left leg to a device known as a Taylor Spatial Frame. The device was adjusted daily to allow the bone to grow one millimetre each night. After eight months, Ironside was able to remove the equipment–her two legs are now the same length.
“I don’t feel like an old man anymore because my back doesn’t hurt, and I just feel normal now,” Ironside says.
Dr. Tony Cooper moved to BC Children’s Hospital to pioneer the technology. He has since eliminated the waitlist for patients in need of limb lengthening and has positioned the hospital as a leader in Western Canada.
“I think this system has revolutionized the way we treat children. It’s very accurate, it’s much more convenient for the children. They only need to do the turns once a day,” Cooper says.
Wearing the frame means patients can also avoid repeated surgeries.
Cooper is now leading a study, the largest of its kind in the world, to try to identify and eliminate the causes of infections that can develop where pins are inserted in the bones. He says he hopes the study will lead to better outcomes and less pain for patients.
“We can reduce the risk of pin-site infections,we can reduce the pain that’s associated with it. And sometimes deep infections in bone can cause devastating problems, so hopefully we can reduce the chance of that happening.”
As for Ironside, she says she is eager to try activities like skating and skiing for the first time this winter, activities that were once off-limits.
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