In a first for Brownsville, a 78-year-old Hispanic man has become the first resident to receive a total ankle replacement procedure in Brownsville.
The surgery, which was performed on Aug. 31, 2010 by Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Jose A. Bossolo at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville, is expected to help the man to be able to walk again.
"This surgery prevents the need for fusing of the ankle, which could severely impair the patient from walking and performing the very basic activities of daily life," Dr. Bossolo said.
The new procedure also greatly reduces the man's risk of falling and injuring himself, said Don Dionisi, R.N., M.S., CNOR, Director of Surgical Services for Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville.
Prior to Dr. Bossolo's surgery, Brownsville area patients would have to travel to other cities for this type of joint replacement procedure.
The total ankle replacement procedure is expected to benefit Brownsville patients who have moderate to severe ankle pain, loss of mobility, and/or loss of function due to injury of the ankle or arthritis of the ankle.
"This is an exciting development for patients in the Brownsville area, to be able to have the option of ankle replacement to relieve the pain they suffer as a result of arthritis," Dr. Bossolo added. "The Scandinavian Total Ankle Replacement system, or S.T.A.R. Ankle, is the newest generation of ankle replacement prosthesis. It will allow many patients to recover more quickly and do better in the long-term than they did with previous ankle replacement procedures."
The "S.T.A.R." ankle replacement prosthesis from Small Bone Innovations, Inc. is a three-piece, "mobile-bearing-based" technology which is the first of its kind that does not require the use of bone cement to receive pre-market approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. "In clinical trials, S.T.A.R. patients had superior effectiveness and comparable safety results compared to ankle fusion," Dr. Bossolo said.
This was the second time that Dr. Bossolo and Valley Baptist-Brownsville performed a ground-breaking orthopedic surgery for the Brownsville area. In 2008, Dr. Bossolo became the first physician in the Lower Valley / Cameron County area to perform a certain type of "Computer-Aided Total Knee Arthroplasty" -- which enabled a Brownsville woman to walk on her own only a day after having a knee replacement surgery.
The high-tech procedure -- which uses a type of "GPS" navigation system to guide the surgeon while doing knee surgery -- benefits patients by reducing the size of incisions, which in many cases can mean a faster healing time and a lower risk for infection and bleeding.
Dr. Bossolo has been practicing in the Valley for nine years. He completed a fellowship in upper-extremity surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and orthopedic training at the Puerto Rican Medical Center at the University of Puerto Rico.
A member of the U.S. Army Reserves, Dr. Bossolo has completed two tours of duty in Iraq, where he performed surgeries on hundreds of injured U.S. troops as well as injured civilians.
He also volunteered his surgical services to the victims of the Haiti earthquake earlier this year.
For more information on ankle, knee and other types of orthopedic surgeries, consult your physician and visit www.ValleyBaptist.net.
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