What to expect
Planning
We will begin by working with you to learn about your unique needs. Together, we will carefully plan your procedure in collaboration with our prosthetic partners. This may require X-rays or (rarely) CT scans.
Procedure
The surgery to place your bone anchor is relatively simple. It can be performed under local anaesthetic or a short general anaesthetic.
Surgery is usually a 2-stage process. During stage 1, we will prepare the area where the bone-anchor will be inserted by removing the overlying soft tissues and replacing them with a skin graft or flap. This helps avoid future problems with overgrowth of the soft tissue. Your surgeon will then insert the bone-anchors, leaving them to osseointegrate for 3 months.
After 3 months, your surgeon will begin stage 2; inserting the metal fixtures that will eventually attach to your prosthesis with clips or magnets. You will be able to see our prosthetist for a final fitting of your prosthesis as quickly as 6 weeks after this second stage.
Aftercare
Stage 1
You must focus on looking after your skin graft, which covers the bone anchors. Around 1-2 weeks after your surgery, we will remove any dressings and you can begin showering your wound (but do not soak in a bath). Remember to allow any crusts on your wound to fall off naturally; do not pick at them. After 2-3 weeks, the skin grafts or flaps will become stable enough to start moisturising them with Vaseline. You can also start to do the same with the donor site from which we took your skin graft.
Stage 2
You will now be able to see the metal fixtures attached to your bone-anchors. We will change your dressing 7-10 days after surgery and you will not need to have another dressing applied after this. From this point onwards, you should begin applying Savlon antiseptic ointment around the base of the fixtures. You will need to continue doing this indefinitely, to keep the area clean and prevent bacterial over-growth.