Pioneering vet gives cat new prosthetic feet

This is a article made me smile... a Pioneering vet gives Oscar the cat new prosthetic feet.. the vid contained in the link has made my day, hope it makes yours

news.bbc.co.uk...

The breakthough comes as the pegs are bioengineered to mimic the way deer antler bone grows through the skin, which means they might be able to use the technique in humans

related article

www.guardian.co.uk...

and a little slideshow my kids pointed out from the cBBC

news.bbc.co.uk...

[edit on 25/6/10 by thoughtsfull]

reply to post by thoughtsfull


Many would give up on a cat in that condition saying, it's just a cat. But I love seeing people who truly value the lives and wellbeing of animals, and who dedicate their time to them. And this is a fantastic display of dedication.

Made me smile. Thanks for the post!

I want to see how it's all actually attached inside...

Does it attach to bone, or just soft tissue?

My sister's a vet tech and she loves cats, so she'll either cry when she sees this, or say it looks like the posts are hurting it's legs... and then cry

Originally posted by noonebutme
reply to post by thoughtsfull

 

Many would give up on a cat in that condition saying, it's just a cat. But I love seeing people who truly value the lives and wellbeing of animals, and who dedicate their time to them. And this is a fantastic display of dedication.

Made me smile. Thanks for the post!

your welcome, considering that state of the world at the moment, when I saw the article and the vid, it really lifted my spirits, I'm glad it made you smile to

Originally posted by alaskan
I want to see how it's all actually attached inside...

Does it attach to bone, or just soft tissue?

My sister's a vet tech and she loves cats, so she'll either cry when she sees this, or say it looks like the posts are hurting it's legs... and then cry

I added the little slideshow from the BBCs childrens channel as it contained an xray of how the implant is attached.

They (the pioneers) say they hope to make it compable with Humans and as I understand it (could be media hype) one of the survivors of the 7/7 bombings who had theit legs amputated might have a similar procedure to implant pegs to attach a new prosthetic limbs am really hopeful this turns into something good for us all

A little more detail on the procedure.

Professor Gordon Blunn and his team at University College London developed the Intraosteous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP) in 2006.

Based on the way deer’s skin and fur moulds around antlers, it is a titanium metal implant which attaches to the bone at the point of amputation so that it sticks out through the skin.

Traditionally attaching metal to skin and bone has left the patient susceptible to infection but the new method enables skin and soft tissue to mesh and grow around the metal rod acting as a protective seal.

This makes the implant more flexible as it acts like part of the bone rather than an attachment.

Once healed the prosthetic limbs are simply screwed on to the external bit of the ITAP.

In Oscar’s case both his back paws were cut off just below the ankle – as cat’s walk on their toes he needed both replacing otherwise his quality of life would have been so poor he faced being put down.

Noel Fitzpatrick used two ITAPs on the animal drilling into his ankle bone on both back paws before sliding in the two metal rods.

The three-hour procedure was fraught with difficulty as cat’s ankles bones are narrow and could have fractured under the strain of the drill.

Once Oscar had healed he was then able to have his first prosthetic paws attached, which were made of rubber.

He has now been given cutting edge ‘blade runner’ style paws made of rubber and metal, which will help him run and climb with greater ease.

Four pairs of longer lasting prosthetic paws have had to be made as he wore through his first set in weeks.

Edit to add: the last sentance really made me smile...


[edit on 25/6/10 by thoughtsfull]

This story really did cheer me up today, thought it was amazing that the cat came up of sedation and was strait away walking on his new legs and within minutes jumping around on boxes. Be great if this tec could be used with humans.

Dread to think how much the owners vet bill was though

Awww....good post. Star and Flag for you OP. I am in the same boat with y'all. This was good to see amid all the gloom and doom as of late. Go Oscar!

Originally posted by lilsmurf
This story really did cheer me up today, thought it was amazing that the cat came up of sedation and was strait away walking on his new legs and within minutes jumping around on boxes. Be great if this tec could be used with humans.

Dread to think how much the owners vet bill was though

I know seeing him jump up on things even if it was only a few inches off the ground was wonderfull the BBC have produced a documentary about it, so should be out in a few days, if you can't get the BBC, I'm sure it'll end up on utube very soon.

I really hope this does translate into something good for all creating it so the skin seals the peg preventing infection is a brilliant bit of bio-engineering which I am sure will benifit millions in time..

[edit on 25/6/10 by thoughtsfull]