Discover our world-class limb reconstruction centre

MQ Health’s Limb Reconstruction Centre pioneered osseointegration in Australia and is a leader in its field in Australasia.

Our multidisciplinary team includes highly skilled orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, psychologists, pain specialists, plastic surgeons, nurses, prosthetists and general physicians.

Our services

We are experts in:

  • osseointegration surgery –  including treatment of amputees and performing robotic work on amputees to restore mobility
  • complex orthopaedic pathologies – such as severe deformities (post-traumatic and genetic), polio (usually in adults who have migrated to Australia), severe musculoskeletal disorders and limb abnormalities
  • failed joint replacements – including infected arthroplasties, failed prosthetics, revision of failed joint replacements and complex infected prostheses
  • limb lengthening – treating limbs that have been shortened due to congenital deficiency, excision of cancer or by severe trauma using minimally invasive techniques
  • tumour management – a growing field, dealing with complex foot and ankle deformities
  • ankle joint replacements – including preoperative 3D scanning and the use of customised treatments to achieve highly accurate results.

We often treat patients who have exhausted all other options.

The Limb Reconstruction Centre at MQ Health is unique in its capacity to perform innovative and complex procedures. This is not achieved by surgical excellence alone, but also by the way that a group of highly skilled surgeons work together as a team.

The centre’s five core doctors are:

Our doctors work collaboratively under a robust Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) model, which is well-established in cancer treatment and increasingly being used in other disciplines – most notably, neurosurgery.

The MDT approach means that patients are often seen by all four surgeons in the same room at the same time.

During consultation, patients receive a detailed assessment. Our doctors discuss the options and agree on a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan. The same approach is undertaken in theatre, with two of the team operating together on each patient.

The team collaborates with:

  • spinal, plastic and vascular surgeons
  • infectious disease consultants
  • psychologist
  • physicians
  • pain specialist
  • physiotherapists
  • rehabilitation specialists.

A Clinical Nurse Consultant trained in limb reconstruction provides patients with close support and education during their treatment journeys.

Our research is unique and cutting edge.

Because we've performed the largest case load of osseointegration surgery in the world, we have a unique opportunity to conduct industry-leading research and establish the literature that others will follow.

Our research team includes chief researchers, post-doc researchers, PhD students and interns. We also have international fellows who have come to join our research projects and are heavily invested in developing the database, surgery protocols and innovation.

Current projects

Some of our current research projects include:

  • mid-year follow-up of transtibial below-knee osseointegration surgery
  • five-year follow up of the first 500 cases of osseointegration surgeries
  • a comparative study in outcomes of osseointegration surgery between developed countries and developing countries
  • randomised controlled trials between outcomes of high-end socket users and osseointegration patients, looking also at pre- and post-surgery energy consumption
  • design features of transtibial implants, the development progress in manufacturing and what the future holds for this kind of technology
  • review of the past, present and future of osseointegration surgery.

Through the centre, we provide 12, six and three-month fellowships. We also run short six-week courses.

We welcome:

  • orthopaedic surgeons from other countries
  • junior medical officers
  • registrars
  • nurses
  • medical students
  • allied health professionals such as:
    • prosthetists
    • physiotherapists.

Our training includes structured programs covering different specialties, such as osseointegration, joint atoplasties, and hand, foot and ankle surgery, throughout the year.

Edwin Ocha Ikwu, a smiling man in a wheelchair.

Brain-controlled prosthetic limbs — story

Brain-controlled technologies are on the rise in many fields, with medicine no exception. Edwin Ocha Ikwu became a quadruple amputee in 2014. While visiting Australia from Nigeria to attend a conference, he lost both legs and hands to septicaemia. Unable ...

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