Surgical Procedures
Innovation Fuels Quality Amputation & Reconstruction Outcome for Recovered COVID-19 Patient

By Kerry Breen

Edited By Allison Elyse Gualtieri

/ CBS New

Read the article on CBS News

Tyler Theroux came into the world with a brachial plexus birth injury that kept his left arm dysfunctional and contorted in pain. As a child, he couldn’t engage in playground activities like the monkey bars, and his classmates would bully him about the injury.

Eventually, Theroux dropped out of school to be homeschooled. While the teasing stopped, the pain didn’t: His parents watched him experience fresh agony with every growth spurt. The brachial plexus is the group of nerves that sends signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm and hand, and that nerve pain kept him awake at night, despite multiple attempts at surgery and therapeutic treatment.

Dr JH Hacquebord

When a patient recovering from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) experienced necrosis of his entire forearm associated with a virus-induced blood clot, an experienced team of experts at NYU Langone’s Center for Amputation Reconstruction planned a two-stage surgery balancing amputation with optimization of functional outcome. Relying on purposeful collaboration aligning advanced surgical approaches and prosthesis technology, the team successfully resolved the patient’s condition while preserving his independence and quality of life.

Read the full article here.

Related Articles

From inspiring patients to thorough research, our blog is for doctors seeking answers and information.

View All
Redefining the Management of Fuchs Dystrophy

Redefining the Management of Fuchs Dystrophy

Since its introduction in the United States in the mid-2010s, Descemet stripping only (DSO) has revolutionized the surgical management of Fuchs dystrophy. Although similar procedures were originally explored in the 1950s and for some time after, these met with little success.

The current technique—pioneered in the United States by Kathryn A. Colby, MD, PhD, the Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine—involves removal of the diseased endothelium and mound-shaped aggregates, known as guttae, without the need for a donor graft.

NYU Langone Convenes World’s Experts on Bionic Reconstruction

NYU Langone Convenes World’s Experts on Bionic Reconstruction

From early on in his career, Jacques Hacquebord, MD, performed major reconstructive work on patients at NYC Health +
Hospitals/Bellevue, including many with hand and arm amputations. Caring for these patients introduced him to the fascinating
world of prosthetic devices. Working with occupational therapists, mental health experts, and those who make and fit artificial
limbs, known as prosthetists, he saw a field brimming with potential.