A total ankle prosthesis was implanted at the Sassarese Polyclinic with a new operating technique that provides a "personalized" and 3D approach. It is the first time that such a technique has been used in Sardinia.

The team of specialists made up of Andrea Valcarenghi and Marco Zamperetti, orthopedic surgeons of the Abano Polyclinic of Abano Terme (Padua), a structure belonging to the same healthcare network, and their colleague Sara Meschini of the Sassarese Polyclinic, operated on a 60-year-old Sardinian patient by providing the experience of the Veneto structure which has one of the largest case studies in Italy in this area and was the first in Europe, at the end of last year, to adopt this method.

The system is based on a very accurate pre-surgery planning in which the 3D images of the CT scan of the ankle to be operated on are sent to a laboratory in Mamphis, Tennessee, which specializes in “custom” bone cutting guides . This technique, which allows bone alignment to be performed with millimeter precision, is now fully available to the Sassari hospital.

It is a very innovative technique used in the case of severe post-traumatic arthrosis deriving from previous fractures and in advanced arthrosis of the ankle, for which the use of a total prosthesis is indicated. Both pathologies cause severe pain and significantly limit walking and the normal performance of daily activities.

Implanting dentures using the Prophecy Stryker system is more accurate than the manual technique, explains Dr. Valcarenghi. «It offers the surgeon the solution for a personalized treatment of patients suffering from ankle arthrosis. In fact, intervention and post-operative recovery times and radiological exposure are reduced. Consequently, hospitalization and recovery of mobility will be shorter. Furthermore, the lower tissue exposure allows for better pain control after the operation».

(Unioneonline/L)

© Riproduzione riservata