Lever release knee lock system for an obese patient question

Lever release knee lock system for an obese patient question

Gary W. Smith, CFo

9/18/2006

I currently have a patient that had a failed hip replacement surgery over a year ago. Patient is 6'2 and weighs 350 pounds. We fabricated for him a KAFO with drop lock knee joints, laminated narrow ML brim for weight bearing, hip joint w/ pelvic band, and a patten bottom.

Now the problem is that the patient now wants to have a system with the drop locks where he can release both locks with a lever on the lateral side. With his current weight, I would not usemthe Becker 1003 swiss locks with the cable system, as I don.t feel that type of lock would support him for very long. I thought about using the lift loops on the current drop locks, but he would need both hands to unlock each individual lock. Also, he would get impingement on the opposite leg if I use a lift loop on the medial side

My question is: Has anyone been able to come up with a system where a patient can use drop locks with a cable system, where the patient can release both drop locks at the same time? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Gary Smith, CFo ,

                          ********************
To unsubscribe, send a message to: <Email Address Redacted> with
the words UNSUB OANDP-L in the body of the
message.

If you have a problem unsubscribing,or have other
questions, send e-mail to the moderator
Paul E. Prusakowski,CPO at <Email Address Redacted>

OANDP-L is a forum for the discussion of topics
related to Orthotics and Prosthetics.

Public commercial postings are forbidden. Responses to inquiries
should not be sent to the entire oandp-l list. Professional credentials
or affiliations should be used in all communications.