Two years ago, Oksana Masel gave birth to a daughter. However, during pregnancy there were some problems, and the girl was born with the absence of the tibia and metatarsal bones, which led to the formation of a false bone, which prevented the growth of the legs.
The first operation to remove the false bone was performed In the Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Traumatology and Orthopedics. Nevertheless, the problem with the difference in the length of the legs of 5 centimeters remained. This means that an increase in the growth of the child can lead to an increase in the difference in the length of the legs by about 1 cm per year. Earlier in Belarus, such an operation was performed for patients older than 6 years.
Before the operation, Miroslava wore boots on such a platform.
The operation consists of installing an external fixation device. It is a metal structure with elements of submersible implants designed to fix bone fragments. Its main task is the surgical correction of congenital or acquired bone tissue pathologies, including skeletal traction.
Mother didn’t want to wait, because if now the girl has a difference of 5 centimeters, then in a couple of years she can already be 10 centimeters. She began to look for a way out. She contacted doctors from America, Germany, Poland and Ukraine to find out if such a small patient could be operated on. The answer was received - operation is possible. But the cost of the operation itself was very high. In addition, Oksana was greatly trusted by our Belarusian doctors. She contacted the Ministry of Health of Belarus but received a disappointing answer: there are no devices for such small children. Surgeons from the Republican Scientific-Practical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics promised Oksana to undergo surgery if the girl can find the external fixation device of the right size.
Quite by accident, on the newspaper’s website, Oksana saw the material about the BNTU Technopark. It is that tools, devices and implants for traumatology and orthopedics are being created there. Oksana contacted the residents of the Polytechnic, and within a day the head of the medical device section called her. Vladimir Ulasevich said that it was possible to make an external fixation device of such a small size, taking into account all the necessary medical and technical requirements.
The device was created for four months. All this time, the selection of material was carried out (attention was paid to the lightness of the structure and its high corrosion resistance). Work was carried out to create the structure itself, taking into account the particular features of the operation, and the technology for its manufacture was tested. Vladimir regularly came, took measurements, drawings. Then, on the experimental-mechanical section of the Technopark, the work was carried out directly on the creation of an external fixation apparatus.
The device is unique because of its size. There is no such apparatus in the CIS. We are the first!
On February 6, Miroslava was operated on by surgeons: Brodko Georgy Alexandrovich, Likhachevsky Yuri Valentinovich and Shpilevsky Igor Vladimirovich. Today is February 14th and the girl is already walking with a walker. Mom was told that recovery would be very difficult. But, fortunately, the child feels great. In the hospital, mom and daughter will need to spend about 2 months, then they will go to their hometown - Baranavichy - where they will continue to recover. The device must be constantly tightened, so that the children's leg is gradually stretched. The bone is planned to be extended by 50 millimeters.
The day after surgery1
Problems with different limb lengths are quite common, says Miroslava’s mother. The difference in the length of the legs in adolescents lying in the hospital is 10-15 centimeters. It is already impossible to completely eliminate such a defect. Young people have to wear huge platforms to hide this feature.
This is probably not the last operation using an external fixation device for a girl. But everyone hopes that by 18, Miroslava’s legs will be the same length.
Now mothers of patients with the same problems are actively contacting Oksana Masiuk so that she shares her experience. There are many people who want to be operated on. Technopark BNTU has already provided the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics, instruments and devices for 4 operations on limb lengthening. For Miroslava, the entire operation to install the device was carried out free of charge as she is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus.
Now everyone, from surgeons to developers, is actively monitoring the health of the child. The treatment process goes well. Oksana expresses her gratitude to the surgeons of the center and the developers of the Technopark.
Employees of the Technopark BNTU wish Miroslava a recovery and are always ready to provide the necessary assistance and support in the treatment.
