A Montgomery County, Maryland, woman received a first-of-its-kind surgery to repair her ankle — and it was done using only plastic components.
Dr. Paul Cooper, an orthopedic surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in D.C., performed the all-plastic ankle replacement surgery on the 71-year-old woman a week ago.
The woman is allergic to metal, so she could not get the traditional surgery that involves metal components.
“Six months ago, this was not even a practical option and it just happened to fall in our lap that the technology matured perfectly in sync with this patient,” Cooper said.
The product that was used in the surgery, a thermal molded polymer, has been used in the aerospace industry and for use in vehicles for many years. But about 10 years ago, it started to be used in the medical field as a product called PEKK — first used as a replacement in craniotomies, then other uses, such as spine tumors and “other orthopedic specialties.”
Cooper, who has been helping patients with joint surgeries for 30 years, said the use of this plastic for this kind of procedure for joints will be a game-changer in medicine: “You can trim it or cut it, as opposed to metal in the operating room to adjust as needed.”
Previously, surgeons have had to scrape patient’s bones to get the metal replacements to fit, but Cooper said the quality of the plastic for joint replacement is good: “Its very similar in strength to (metal) that has been used in the past.”
As far as the woman who received the surgery, Cooper said “she woke up in less pain than she went to sleep with,” adding “she’s very excited to be a pioneer.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
