In December 2017, a team of professionals from the amputation and serious orthopedic injuries program, the CCSSMTL’s CIUSSS, and an orthopedic surgeon from the CUSUM set up an interdisciplinary assessment clinic for clients who have undergone an amputation to obtain information and assess the client’s eligibility for and potential benefits of osseointegration surgery. The team also handles post-operative rehabilitation.
What is osseointegration?
Osseointegration is when a biocompatible material is anchored and integrated into living bone.
Osseointegration is an alternative to a traditional prosthesis, allowing the device to be attached directly to the amputee’s body, similar to a dental implant. This eliminates the need for a prosthetic socket and the problems it can cause. This also allows clients to do more with their prosthesis and continue the same activities as before their amputation.
An innovation in Quebec
Osseointegration was not available in Canada until 2018. Users with an amputation had to travel to another country (e.g., Australia) at their own expense to receive this type of surgery. Through their work and efforts, the Montreal team has made it possible for Canadian clients not only to receive a quality interdisciplinary assessment of their suitability for the surgery, but also to receive the surgery in Canada. Five clients have received osseointegration surgery and post-operative rehabilitation in Montreal since the beginning of the project, and this alternative will now be available to other clients in the future to improve their quality of life.
Project submitted par Marie-Eve Demers, gestionnaire des organisations au CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l’île-de-Montréal
