Fitzpatrick Referrals
Orthopaedics + Neurosurgery
Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP)
Fitzpatrick Referrals was the first surgical centre worldwide (either veterinary or human) to offer the ITAP technology developed by Stanmore Implants Worldwide Ltd. for weight-bearing limb salvage procedures in any species. We have treated both dogs and cats with this innovative technology in circumstances where amputation or euthanasia were the only possible alternatives.
The ITAP is a robust implant which attaches to the bone at an amputation site using the same technology as for endoprostheses. However, it crosses the skin to provide an anchor for attachment of an external prosthesis for the patient to weight bear on. Unlike previous attempts to develop this technology, the system developed by Stanmore Implants Worldwide Ltd. allows the skin to integrate with the implant, providing a barrier to infection.
More recently, the same technology has been adopted by human surgeons, and is now in use to provide limb prostheses for human amputees.
Case Study - Coal
"When I brought Coal to see Noel, there really wasn’t very much hope for him since cancer had eaten away his wrist, he had arthritis in his knees and he took most of his bodyweight on his front end. Therefore I felt that he would not have managed on three legs, and until that point full leg amputation or euthanasia was all I’d been offered. Neither he nor I were ready to say goodbye.
The cancer wasn’t of a type that would likely spread quickly and so if it were cut out, he could potentially live for quite some time. The ITAP didn’t just improve Coal’s quality of life, it gave him life. As far as I am concerned the ITAP and associated external prosthesis saved his life. Coal led a perfectly normal life after the operation, there was absolutely nothing he couldn’t do. He would use his prosthetic leg to bash at the door to be let out, and used it with his good paw to hold food and toys, as well as give you his “paw” when he wanted a treat. The most amazing thing was people never noticed he had a prosthetic leg until they actually looked closely.
There was nothing in the way he walked or ran that gave it away, his movement was perfectly natural, and, most importantly, pain free. I shall be eternally grateful to Fitzpatrick Referrals for this gift of life, and for managing to achieve the perfect marriage of compassion and science for me and for Coal."
Fig (above): Coal at (1): Immediate post-op, (2) 5 months post-op and (3) Foot and skin implant interface.