In December 2020, the FDA approved the Osseoanchored Prostheses for the Rehabilitation of Amputees (OPRA) Implant System—the first implant system in the United States for transfemoral amputees who have difficulty using a conventional prosthesis. OPRA had been previously available and marketed under a humanitarian device exemption (HDE) since 2015.
Osseointegration, a form of implant surgery, is restoring freedom of movement to amputees in a revolutionary new way. Correspondent Barry Petersen speaks to doctors about this prosthetic procedure, and with patients who are embracing their expanded mobility with a vengeance.
Dr. Jason Stoneback calls osseointegration (OI) a “game-changer” for amputees. He also knows that successful outcomes can’t be assumed. They have to be earned.
There’s always a moment before he treats another injured cowboy when Jason Stoneback will sit outside the rodeo circle and long for the time when he was inside it.
There’s always a moment before he treats another injured cowboy when Jason Stoneback will sit outside the rodeo circle and long for the time when he was inside it.
That longing starts gnawing at him the morning of the rodeo, when the dust creeps into his nose and he hears the first whinny. It was probably there Sunday, when he readied himself before the Greeley Stampede’s rodeo.
Dr. Jason Stoneback, left, checks out the leg of saddle bronc rider Heith DeMoss while inside the Justin Boots Sportmedicine Team trailer outside of the Stampede Arena on Sunday. Stoneback is a former rodeo competitor who volunteers his time to help out other rodeo cowboys.