Twenty-three years of outcome data about the Osseointegrated Prosthesis for the Rehabilitation of Amputees (OPRA) implant system has been reported in a study in Prosthetics and Orthotics International. The outcome data, collected in the United Kingdom, included a minimum of nine years of follow-up data and demonstrated that osseointegrated prostheses allow prolonged use and improved patients’ quality of life compared to conventional prostheses, according to the study’s authors.
Data from 18 people with transfemoral amputations who received unilateral osseointegrated implants between 1997 and 2008 was included. Five people received the implants before development of the formalized protocol of the OPRA system. Mean follow-up of the pre-OPRA group was 11.4 years (1.8-18.6 years), and 12.3 years (2.9-15.9) for the post-OPRA group.
The researchers found that the Kaplan-Meier cumulative survivorship was 40 percent for the pre-OPRA group and 80.21 percent for the post-OPRA group. Five implants (28 percent) have been removed, three (17 percent) for deep infection, one (5.6 percent) for chronic pain, which was later proven to be infected, and one (5.6 percent) due to implant fracture secondary to loosening due to infection. Two patients (11 percent) had peri-implant infections suppressed with oral antibiotics. Eleven cases (61 percent) of superficial infection were successfully treated with antibiotics. The Short Form 36 health survey and the Questionnaire for Persons with a Transfemoral Amputation showed significant improvements in quality of life up to five years after implantation.
