July 26, 2008

FT. COLLINS, Colo. -– It’s hard to imagine that Sally, a two year old Saluki, was ever alone and abandoned. But that’s exactly how volunteers with the Protecting Animal Welfare Society found her in the Kuwaiti desert, just about a year ago.

Then, she was injured and missing part of one back leg. Now, she’s walking on all fours, and perfectly at home with all the media attention she’s receiving as a groundbreaking medical pioneer.

Sally is feeling like herself again with a brand new leg -- an implant made of titanium that is attached to her leg bone. Her surgeon is her owner, Dr. Erick Egger at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University.

“The design of the implant that actually uses multiple screws to lock it to the bone is pretty unique,” Dr. Egger said.

He says Sally is healing nicely, and that her bone is already growing around the implant.

When Sally first arrived in Fort Collins, Colo., from Kuwait, Dr. Egger fitted her with strap-on prostheses. But Sally found it difficult to manage, and even harder to run and play.

Like both animal and human amputees, strap-on or “boot” prostheses can often cause skin abrasions and sores. And some patients find it difficult to judge their footing and balance.

Since Sally’s new implant is actually part of her bone, her leg is much more sensitive. It’s almost as if she had never lost her leg.

“She’s quite happy to swing around and jump on this and use it,” says Dr. Egger. “She gets better every day.”

While the implant is metal, there is a spongy plastic extension at the bottom that acts like a shock absorber. The team that designed and fitted the new leg realized that Sally loved to run, and needed some kind of cushion to protect her bone.

The hot pink colored section of her new leg is actually made of a pair of Crocs shoes. The team cut out the heels, and put them together to get the proper amount of give and spring.

“I think that she’s just amazing,” Sue Egger, Dr. Egger’s wife, said. “Sally is so adaptable and happy. She really enjoys running around and being crazy, and this enables her to do that.”

The implant is one of a kind, but with the interest of pet owners across the world, who are now asking for the procedure for their dogs, the doctor and engineer who developed the implant says it could be made affordable.

“If there were 50 of these done a year, I would say we could do it for about a thousand dollars,” said Dr. Slobodan Tepic of Kyon Veterinary Surgical Products located in Switzerland.

The technology used to create Sally’s new leg is based on technology used for human hip replacements, and now, Sally could be paving the way for not only other canine patients, but also the two legged kind.

“Ultimately, when we’re helping the dog, we're helping people,” Dr. Egger said.

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