The NHS is now offering amputees new high-tech prostheses that fit directly into the leg, as the first patient to undergo the operation describes his new leg as a “massive upgrade” over painful prostheses

A high-tech bone implant can radically improve the amputee’s mobility.

Traditionally, prosthetic limbs are attached to the body with a fiber cup that grips the remaining limb by suction, but this often fits poorly and leaves the skin irritated and susceptible to infection.

Now NHS doctors at St George’s Hospital in South London are carrying out a new procedure which allows prosthetic legs and arms to be anchored to bone.

Surgeons insert a titanium implant into the remaining limb with a portion that protrudes through the skin. It can then be easily attached to the prosthesis with a strong magnet. And this in turn increases the wearer’s mobility by improving limb rotation.

The first patient to undergo the new surgery known as osseointegration described the result as a “massive upgrade.”

Marc Collins (60) from Ashford, Surrey, lost his left leg in a motorcycle accident in 1979.

Since then, he has had dozens of different types of prostheses, most of them with sockets.

“As a result, I had numerous painful wounds that were so painful that I could not use the limb,” says the married social worker. “I’m glad I don’t have to wear a tube anymore.”

The technology has already been used by British military surgeons, says Alex Trompeter, an orthopedist at St George’s Hospital.

He adds: “It was clear that these patients recovered more quickly and had fewer complications and infections typical of traditional procedures.”

NHS doctors at St George’s Hospital (pictured) in south London are carrying out a new procedure called osseointegration, which allows prosthetic legs and arms to be anchored to bone

The operation lasts between two and four hours. First, the stump is opened and surgeons attach the titanium implant to the bone.

A small magnetic connector pierces the skin, which naturally heals around it.

“It has a latch that secures the prosthesis – a bit like plugging an iPhone into the charger,” says Professor Munjed Al Muderis, one of the orthopedic surgeons who developed the procedure.

Osseointegration is like putting on slippers, rather than lacing up boots. It can take up to half an hour to fit a traditional prosthesis to the suction device as it simply clicks into place. This technology will revolutionize the way we treat amputees.”