When an adult has bone cancer, they are given the option of undergoing endoprosthesis surgery, which inserts a prosthetic under the skin and eliminates the need for an amputation.
However, for children, it’s a different story. Often times, surgeons refuse to perform the endoprosthesis surgery because the prosthetic will not grow with the limb. Instead, they choose to amputate the limb to reduce the risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body.
But, Dr. Letson of the Moffitt Cancer Center refuses to make amputation the first option. In fact, he has performed endoprosthesis surgery on 50 children over the past 18 years. His solution is to implant expandable chrome and titanium prosthetics. The device grows with the child through magnetic pulls. The prosthetic is stretched 1 centimeter on a monthly basis.
This probably seems like torture to most. But, his patient, Katie Karp, explains it is virtually painless. She says, at most, it feels like growing pains.
While this surgery has positively changed the lives of many of Letson’s patients, insurance companies are reluctant to endorse it. Letson explains they aren’t keen on touching stories but, instead, rely on hard numbers. Truth is, patients with endoprosthesis surgery have the same survival rate as those with an amputation. Naturally, the insurance companies usually opt to support amputations which are much less expansive.
However, Letson’s overriding goal is to think outside of the box and improve the quaility of life for children who survive bone cancer. So, he continues to change the mindset of insurance companies and warm others up to the idea of expandable prosthetics.
You’re probably thinking this sounds familiar. Well, that’s because we featured one of his patients in a past blog post. Take a look at her video!
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