Experts in osseointegration (OI) of a bone-anchored limb proposed a workflow for patient selection and screening in OI cases. The authors, including Jason Stoneback, MD, and Dan Milius, MS, CPO, of the University of Colorado Hospital’s Bone-Anchored Limb Research Group, prepared a comprehensive evaluation process that incorporates anatomical, physiological, psychological, and lifestyle factors to maximize the benefits of OI systems while ensuring patient safety and improving long-term rehabilitation outcomes.
Aspects of the evaluation included radiological evaluation, amputation history, prosthetic component assessment, laboratory tests, psychiatric history, cognitive assessments, and considerations of home safety and postoperative care.
The workflow can standardize patient selection to optimize surgical outcomes and rehabilitation processes as “evidence-based guidelines [are] still in their infancy,” according to the authors. They suggested that the evaluation be conducted by an interdisciplinary team to ensure a balanced consideration of risks and benefits for each candidate.
The open-access study, “Screening and patient selection for bone-anchored limb implantation and rehabilitation: what makes a good candidate?” was published in OTA International.
To hear more from Stoneback and Milius, look for “O&P Providers Answer the Call for Optimal Care, More OI Education” in the April edition of The O&P EDGE.
