All Julian wanted to be for Halloween was his favorite football player, Amari Cooper of the Dallas Cowboys. After bone cancer led to the amputation of his left leg this past summer, Julian received his first custom-made prosthetic leg, from the experts at Scottish Rite for Children.
Julian is a huge Dallas Cowboys supporter and one of Amari Cooper’s biggest fans! After bone cancer led to the amputation of his left leg this past summer, Julian’s love of football kept him going. Learn more about Julian and his first custom-made prosthetic leg.
At Scottish Rite for Children, we are committed to providing to best and most innovative care – making sure we do everything we can to help each child accomplish their goals. Our Orthotics & Prosthetics department create custom-made orthoses and prostheses for patients with special orthopedic needs.
With a team of trained orthotists and prosthetists at our Dallas and Frisco campuses, they are using the latest technology to help each patient be the best they can be. Learn more below.
Microprocessor Knee
A microprocessor knee is a specialized component for a transfemoral (amputation above the knee) prosthesis that can provide more stability for the patient. It has a computer in the knee that knows every movement. This knee is great for active patients that want to fear less about falling and more about their surroundings.
What is the most common patient population that we are using this device for?
Active adults that do a variety of activities. This technology is great for our older patients.
What makes this different than our standard prosthetic knee/leg?
A traditional knee requires more effort from the patient to keep it stable. These knees can buckle and lead to falling. These instances are rare but they do happen. Every amputee falls at some point, but research shows that a microprocessor knee decreases that frequency of falling because it can adapt on its own rather than the patient catching themselves with a traditional prosthetic knee.
There are pros and cons of both types of knees. The key is to make the best selection for each patient based on their needs. These microprocessor knees also allow the patient to switch it between modes. These modes change the settings of the knee to allow for different activities such as skiing, cycling, badminton, etc. – which is a unique feature to the technology.
Is there a certain age range that this type of device is better for?
For our patient population, it is mostly selected for those patients graduating high school and moving on to other exciting chapters in their lives outside of Scottish Rite.
IDEO Brace
The IDEO brace is an ankle foot orthosis (AFO). It provides stability to the foot and ankle for patients who have weakness in their lower extremities.
The benefit of this brace is that it is made of carbon fiber. Therefore, it offers some energy return and spring back during walking. This brace is very strong and is harder to break. We work with children that sometimes break their braces frequently because they are so active.
What makes this different than our standard orthosis?
The biggest difference between this AFO and many other AFO’s that we do is that it is a carbon fiber brace. It has a carbon fiber strut on the back of the brace that allows for some spring back during ambulation. This strut can be interchanged with those of different stiffness’s. This allows for the patient to put in a different stiffness of strut depending on the activity that they are doing, offering more or less spring. The IDEO brace includes a cuff just below the knee that fits snug on the leg to help offload the foot. This is important for an individual with a wound or injury that cannot put weight through their lower extremity.
Is there a certain age rage that this type of device is better for?
It is typically used for older children and adults.
Learn more about our Orthotics & Prosthetics department.
Scoliosis is one of the most common conditions our experts treat, and it presents in many forms – from the common to the complex. Depending on the child and the severity of their curve, the plan for treatment can vary. Bracing is a treatment option for patients whose curve is smaller to moderate. At Scottish Rite, our in-house Orthotics department creates custom braces – making sure it fits the child just right.
Orthotics clinical coordinator, Kara Davis, CPO/L, FAAOP, spoke with The O&P Edge, discussing the effectiveness of bracing as a treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
Read the full article.
Blog written by Jayden’s mom, Ashley of Carrollton.
Jayden hurt his leg during a basketball camp back in January 2019. We were told that it was a bad sprain and if he iced and kept it elevated, everything would be fine. He did as he was told, and the swelling went down. Jayden continued to play basketball and almost made it through the entire spring season. A couple of weeks later, his knee gave out on him and he fell down the stairs. Ice helped the swelling decrease, but by that point even walking had become painful for Jayden.
I took him to an urgent care clinic to have an X-ray taken of his knee. The clinic immediately referred us to an oncologist and on March 6, 2019, Jayden was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. The next couple of days were a whirlwind. We saw specialists, he underwent many different tests and procedures and on March 16, 2019, Jayden started his first round of chemo.
Everything happened quickly, and Jayden remained tough and fought hard! Over the next couple of months, he had eight rounds of chemo, but ultimately, we all decided that it was best to amputate his leg. On June 4, 2019, Jayden had his right leg amputated through the knee. He quickly recovered from surgery and was able to resume his chemo treatment plan.
A couple of weeks later, Jayden started the process of getting his prosthetic leg and in September, was able to take his new leg home!
I was proud of his tough attitude and determined spirit as he worked hard to learn how to walk, run, jump and balance on his new leg. He did all of this, while still receiving chemo.
He is excited to start the next chapter of his life, as an amputee. Scottish Rite means the world to us and has helped us so much. Jayden is now back on his feet – running and playing with his friends.