SRA students demonstrate prosthetic limb project

Biomedical students at Santa Rosa Academy present their project on prosthetic limbs.

Students in the biomedical pathway program at Santa Rosa Academy recently presented a project studying the history and future of prosthetic limbs.

Students of teacher Leilani Worthington studied the options for cancer victims who previously had only amputation as a solution. In recent decades, doctors have discovered the effects of chemotherapy given before and after surgery. That, and advances in surgical techniques, have allowed osteosarcoma patients to have surgery where limb amputation is no longer necessary. There are situations, of course, where amputation is necessary.

During limb-salvage surgery, the entire tumor is removed while preserving tendons, nerves and blood vessels, also increasing the likelihood of a successful prosthetic limb.

The students’ presentation included the following statement about a fictitious patient:

"Our patient, Mike Smith, went in for his preoperative exam yesterday, and the news was not good. Unfortunately, Mike is having a poor response to chemotherapy, and his tumor has spread to the nerves and blood vessels surrounding the original bone tumor. Because of this, Mike's orthopedic surgeon and oncologist have decided that limb-salvage surgery is not appropriate.

“Mike will have to have his arm amputated to prevent the tumor from spreading further. The orthopedic surgeon has planned the amputation surgery so that the muscles and skin will form a cuff around the amputated bone, which will fit into the end of a prosthetic limb. Mike knows this is something he has to do, but he is scared thinking about how this amputation will affect his life.

"Our daily activities are so dependent upon the use of our arms and hands that we often take them for granted. Think back to waking up this morning. What activities did you do this morning before you even ate breakfast? Did you turn off your alarm clock, push back your covers, turn a doorknob, turn on a faucet for a shower, or comb your hair? All of these seemingly mundane and simple tasks relied on the skillful and intricate movements of our arms and hands.

“In this activity, we investigated the history and future of prosthetic limbs and then designed simple models of an arm that is able to pick up a cup and allow our partner to drink from it."