In North Carolina, a dog named Cassidy becomes first to receive custom, permanent artificial limb


Posted on Mar 30, 2009
By Julia Szabo

Sunday, March 10 at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, a German Shepherd mix named Cassidy became the first American dog to receive a custom, permanent artificial limb.
 
As reported here in 2007, an amputee Belgian Shepherd named Storm became the first dog in the world to receive a permanent "bionic" leg fused directly to the bone of his foreleg; the operation was performed in England. However, Storm's limb was a piece of metal, not a recreation of the dog's missing leg. Cassidy's new right rear limb, on the other hand, is a high-tech, computer-generated bone replica crafted to mirror his existing (left) hind leg, the result of intensive research by NCSU's department of industrial and systems engineering.

Doctors work on Cassidy's prosthetic leg.

Cassidy's custom limb screws into a titanium socket that's fused directly to the bone of the dog's right hind leg; the metal-bone interface was achieved in a surgical procedure pioneered at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little and his colleague Ola Harryson, an associate engineering professor. The process began last summer, when Dr. Marcellin-Little attached the honeycombed socket to Cassidy's right rear tibia under anesthesia. Ever since, as the bone grew steadily into the socket, Cassidy enjoyed four-footed mobility, walking about on a temporary metal "training leg" screwed into the socket.
 
When the final version of the prosthetic leg was completed earlier this month, Cassidy and his owners, Steve and Susan Posovsky of Florida and New York, traveled back to NCSU with Cassidy. After technicians switched out the dog's temporary leg for the permanent one, Cassidy took his first tentative steps on the new custom prosthetic. Then, to everyone's delight, Cassidy began walking confidently within minutes, exploring the hospital hallway.

Cassidy tests out the new leg.

Observing the dog's gait and his newly level pelvis, doctors were impressed. "I'm actually a little bit shocked," Dr. Marcellin-Little told the News & Observer. "We're 10 minutes into it, and he's moving really well." Cassidy is a bona fide celebrity, with numerous TV appearances to his credit. To make his success story even more satsifying, the Posovskys had adopted Cassidy years ago from New York City's overcrowded municipal animal shelter, Animal Care & Control, where he could easily have ended up a sad statistic. 
 

Researchers at NCSU plan to apply this exciting technology to help human amputees, notably injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the meantime, Dr. Marcellin-Little and his team are scheduled to perform similar operations on two more dogs in coming weeks. And a sweet, pretty, three-and-a-half-legged pit bull named Maxine, up for adoption at a New Jersey animal shelter, is also a candidate for this exciting procedure - but first the shelter that rescued Maxine must raise $6,000. To make a donation toward Maxine's new leg, call 856-401-1300 or email info@ccasnj.org.

 

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