Transcutaneous osseointegration for amputees lessons from the past of relevance to the future

[摘要] Transcutaneous limb osseointegration improves pain, mobility, and quality of life for patients struggling with a traditional socket prosthesis (TSP)1,2 by eliminating the socket and anchoring the prosthetic limb to the skeleton. This represents the greatest paradigm shift in amputee rehabilitation since Ambroise Paré’s prosthetic designs in the 1500s.3 Given the recent USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of, and large government-sponsored organizational interest in osseointegration implants,4,5 a surge of implant development and surgical interest is forthcoming. Understanding the origins and evolution of osseointegration, including the unsuccessful attempts, is both interesting and clinically responsible to help enterprising surgeons and implant manufacturers avoid known design and technique shortcomings. Repeating known problems increases development time and cost and causes patient morbidity, while evoking unwarranted disapproval from the medical community.6 Accordingly, this editorial has two aims: first, to inspire and guide interested perusal of early foundational literature, which unfortunately is sometimes difficult to locate or even identify; and second, to call for more responsible reporting of situations which lead to patient morbidity.

[学科分类] 骨科学