Brian: Limb Salvage Procedure

Due to a severe accident, Brian almost lost his lower left leg to amputation. When Dr. Cole evaluated him, he had severe bone infection of the tibia and loss of a major portion of skin and leg muscles. Dr. Cole determined several surgeries were necessary to address Brian’s specific issues.

Initially Brian’s leg was cleaned in surgery and the infected dead bone was removed. To cover the soft tissue defect, Dr. Cole and his team moved part of the healthy skin and muscle from his leg to cover the exposed areas. Skin grafts were required to cover other superficial wounds on Brian’s leg.

As a result of the amount of dead skin and infected bone that was removed, Brian had a limb discrepancy of four inches. Dr. Cole successfully lengthened Brian’s leg in two stages, timed about a year apart using the Intramedullary Skeletal Kinectic Distractor (ISKD). This device, invented by Dr. Cole, allowed Brian to continue working during the healing process. Today, Brian is able to walk with very little difficulty.