A young female athlete breaks her leg playing soccer. After treating the fracture the doctor sees the potential of a more serious condition and calls her back. While he is doing the tests she begins to study the diagnosis, treatment and outcome of the treatment and in doing so she encounters something disturbing. Are all the surgeries being done for this condition necessary?
The surgery started at 5:08. By 5:42 Laura’s leg was no longer a part of her body. Although the doctor had performed this surgery many times he never ceased to have the impact of it grip him at this point. He had just removed most of her leg creating an enormous open wound. If not properly treated this wound could kill her with infection or blood loss. He had removed one of her legs.
She would never be able to run as before, walking for her would always be more difficult. The doctor began closing the wound, carefully sewing the flesh to pad the bone. For this shortened appendage to be of any value to her it must be able to support weight on this small area without discomfort. It must be smooth enough to make proper contact with the socket of her prosthesis and distribute her weight.
He inserted a drain into the wound. An assistant held it in place as he continued his work. Nearly an hour after he made the first incision the wound was closed. A long line of stitches marked the closure. He placed a dressing on the wound and looked up, “Let’s get started with the cast.”
The nurse started handing the strips of wet plaster material to the surgeon and his assistant. Soon Laura’s stump was encased in the white material. The assistant picked up a basket shaped metal object and slid it over the end of the soft cast. He pulled it back and made some adjustments on it, then replaced it. The surgeon inserted a metal pole into a socket in the bottom of it.
They checked the alignment. It must be straight and serve as an almost perfect extension of her severed femur. With the alignment correct they proceeded to cover the basket with more cast material to make a solid connection. Appearance was not critical here, the most important thing was to properly protect and encase the wounded remains of Laura’s leg. Then they marked the length of the metal pole to exactly match her other foot.
They removed it from the connector on the cast and cut it to the length to match Laura’s left leg. Then they reinserted the pole, it was as though they had cut off her femur and extended it. They placed a belt around her waist and attached the cast to the belt to keep it in place. After final checks Laura was taken to the recovery area.
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