Relimb and osseointegration in the UK: care through Royal Free and Dorset Orthopaedic

Relimb was established to provide specialist reconstructive care for people whose needs do not fit neatly into routine pathways. That includes patients living with limb loss, major trauma, difficult residual-limb problems, neuroma pain, phantom limb pain, and situations where conventional prosthetic options have become hard to tolerate or no longer meet day-to-day needs.

A central part of the service is osseointegration, sometimes described as direct skeletal fixation. In selected patients, this can provide an alternative to a conventional socket by creating a direct connection between the prosthesis and the skeleton. For some people, that may offer better comfort, improved prosthetic wear, and a more stable platform for rehabilitation. It is not suitable for everyone, which is why careful assessment matters.

Relimb is based at the Royal Free Hospital in London and works closely with Dorset Orthopaedic on prosthetics, therapy, and rehabilitation. That partnership allows surgical decision-making, rehabilitation planning, prosthetic input, and longer-term follow-up to be considered together rather than as separate steps handled by disconnected teams.

The service also brings together broader reconstructive expertise, including targeted muscle reinnervation, regenerative peripheral nerve interface techniques, soft-tissue reconstruction, and management of complex post-injury problems. For patients, the practical value is straightforward: one specialist team can help coordinate the bigger picture rather than addressing one problem at a time in isolation.

For people exploring whether this kind of input may be relevant, the right starting point is usually a taster clinic or an enquiry. That first conversation helps clarify whether a formal assessment is appropriate and what the next steps might look like.