Bella’s owner, Anthony, loves to take her for walks by the ocean. They live by the coast so there’s no shortage of beaches to explore.
One day, while out on a walk, Bella cut her back foot. “I don’t quite know how she did it,” says Anthony. “We came home and we saw blood was everywhere.”
The cut was deep so Anthony took Bella to the vet who stapled the wound and bandaged it. “I was feeling sorry for her. She was obviously feeling the pain with the staples going in.”
“I was feeling sorry for her. She was obviously feeling the pain with the staples going in.”
— Anthony
But a few days later, the bandage became loose and Anthony tightened it with some tape. Unfortunately, he tied the tape on too tightly, causing the foot to lose blood supply. He realised something was wrong when Bella’s foot started to smell.
“She was very aggressive with us when we tried to do anything or go near it”, said Anthony. “That’s when we took her back to the vet.” The vet tested the foot for blood flow but there wasn’t any. And it was gangrene. The vet told Anthony that Bella’s foot had to be amputated.
It was at this point that Dr Andrew Levien, heard there was a dog that needed a foot amputated. “When I saw Bella, basically her foot was dead from about the ankle down. And there was nothing we could do,” says Dr Levien. “The two choices were either amputate the leg or try a new type of bionic leg.” He explained to Anthony that the procedure was considered experimental at the time. And still is.
Because the surgery is experimental, Dr Levien generously offered to cover the cost. Anthony was grateful and immediately agreed to go ahead with the surgery. “I feel guilty because it was me that put the tape on the bandage when it was coming off.”
“We obviously had to deal with the dead foot first,” said Dr Levien. “So, we amputated just the dead bit and left the bit that was alive, which was about the level of the ankle.”
The next step was to create a healthy wound bed so that it could accept the bionic leg. It took about two to four weeks to get the wound healthy with the help of antibiotics.
To create the bionic limb, Dr Levien did a CT scan on Bella so that he could measure her bones and design the implants to suit. “We use the CT scan to design the implants,” said Dr Levien. The bionic limb design was then sent overseas for manufacturing.
When the custom-designed bionic limb was ready, Dr Levien implanted it into Bella’s amputated limb. “At the same time, we attached a 3D printed foot to the titanium rod that went inside her bone and she took to it so well. She pretty much straightaway accepted her new foot and new leg and was starting to walk on it probably from day one or two. And certainly, by a month out, she was really walking confidently on that leg.”
“...And certainly, by a month out, she was really walking confidently on that leg.
— DR LEVIEN
When Bella was ready to go home, Anthony was told that she couldn’t move and had to rest. So, Anthony went and bought a little playpen to keep her confined. “She had very limited walking access and I would come home at lunchtime to take her out to go to the toilet.”
Nearly two years later, Dr Levien is very happy with the results. “Bella has been doing super well. She has a leg that she otherwise would have lost. She goes for regular walks with Anthony like a normal dog.”
Bella has had a couple of skin infections and needed a course of antibiotics. This is not unusual according to Dr Levien. To minimise infections, Bella has a hygiene protocol that Anthony follows once a day. “It’s a bit like brushing your teeth to keep the skin implant interface clean.”
It’s been 19 months since Bella’s surgery and there have been no significant problems. Bella has regular follow-up appointments to check her progress and her X-rays show no concerns.
Anthony is amazed at what Dr Levien has achieved with an experimental surgery. “He has a lot of vision.”
