<p>In a groundbreaking surgery carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick, a Surrey-based veterinary surgeon, the custom-made implants “peg” the ankle to Oscar’s foot and mimic the way in which deer antler bone grows through skin.<br /><br />The prosthetic legs, called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps) were developed by a team from University College London, led by Professor Gordon Blunn.<br />“The real revolution with Oscar is [that] we have put a piece of metal and a flange into which skin grows into an extremely tight bone,” Fitzpatrick said of the operation which took place last November.<br /><br />“We have managed to get the bone and skin to grow into the implant and we have developed an ‘exoprosthesis’ that allows this implant to work as a see-saw on the bottom of an animal’s limbs to give him effectively normal gait,” he added.<br /><br />The veterinary surgical team took three hours to insert the pegs by drilling into one of the cat’s ankle bones in each of the back legs.<br /><br />The Itap technology has already been used to create a prosthetic for a woman who lost her arm in the July 2005 London bombings.<br /><br />Oscar’s recovery will feature as part of a six-part BBC One documentary series, The Bionic Vet, starting later this month.</p>
<p>In a groundbreaking surgery carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick, a Surrey-based veterinary surgeon, the custom-made implants “peg” the ankle to Oscar’s foot and mimic the way in which deer antler bone grows through skin.<br /><br />The prosthetic legs, called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps) were developed by a team from University College London, led by Professor Gordon Blunn.<br />“The real revolution with Oscar is [that] we have put a piece of metal and a flange into which skin grows into an extremely tight bone,” Fitzpatrick said of the operation which took place last November.<br /><br />“We have managed to get the bone and skin to grow into the implant and we have developed an ‘exoprosthesis’ that allows this implant to work as a see-saw on the bottom of an animal’s limbs to give him effectively normal gait,” he added.<br /><br />The veterinary surgical team took three hours to insert the pegs by drilling into one of the cat’s ankle bones in each of the back legs.<br /><br />The Itap technology has already been used to create a prosthetic for a woman who lost her arm in the July 2005 London bombings.<br /><br />Oscar’s recovery will feature as part of a six-part BBC One documentary series, The Bionic Vet, starting later this month.</p>
