Ms. Alina Załoga from near Zamość lived with a fractured femur for two years. She could barely walk. During that time, she was unable to find a specialist to help her. She finally received assistance at the Orthopedics Clinic of the University Clinical Hospital in Białystok. She has already undergone surgery to replace two joints and the entire femur (!). Two days after the surgery, with the help of crutches, she took several steps independently. On Saturday, she happily returned home.
Doctors acknowledge that this is an unusual surgery.
“We performed a procedure that few centers in Poland carry out,” admits Dr. Paweł Olszewski from the Clinic of Orthopedics, Traumatology, and Hand Surgery, who was the lead surgeon. “It was a simultaneous replacement of the hip and knee joints along with the implantation of a femoral bone implant.”
The doctors carefully dissected and removed the damaged femur and replaced it with an artificial titanium bone. They also replaced the hip and knee joint prostheses. Such solutions are usually proposed to cancer patients with large bone defects. In this case, a special system working on a "block" principle was used. The surgeons select individual components to replicate the natural joints and bones. The operation lasted 3.5 hours and was performed by four surgeons.
The Białystok clinic aims to expand the range of performed surgeries.
“We are expanding the range of our surgeries,” admits Dr. Jan Kiryluk, head physician of the Orthopedics Clinic at the University Clinical Hospital in Białystok. “This year, we will perform about 900 joint replacements of the hip, knee, and shoulder, including over 80 revision replacements. This is more than double the number of replacement surgeries compared to the previous year. We are starting to implant so-called ‘individually 3D-printed’ prostheses used for patients with significant bone tissue destruction. For these patients, we first fill the bone tissue defect with a 3D-printed element and then implant the prosthesis. From next year, we plan to implant prostheses with robotic assistant support. Starting January 2024, we will begin replantation shifts as part of the nationwide replantation system. The surgeries performed and therapeutic outcomes encouraged us to introduce similar procedures for oncology patients within our clinic. Therefore, we will be implanting post-resection prostheses.”
Ms. Alina’s medical history is extensive. She is 64 years old. As a child, she had undiagnosed and untreated hip dysplasia. This resulted in her having to undergo hip replacement surgery in her right leg at age 32 in Kraków, and a year and a half later in her left leg. Two years later, a revision surgery was necessary. Fortunately, the following 20 years passed without complications or problems.
At age 52, Ms. Alina had to replace both prostheses, which had worn out. She was admitted to a hospital in Janów Lubelski. Unfortunately, during the prosthesis replacement surgery, her femur fractured. The doctors repaired and joined the bone as best as they could. Ms. Janina (likely a typo for Alina) spent six weeks with her leg in a cast. In the following years, she functioned moderately well but had to use crutches.
Two years ago, her condition suddenly worsened—she couldn’t stand on her leg because it was unstable. It turned out the femur had fractured again, causing severe pain. This started her journey through hospitals. First, she was admitted to Janów Lubelski, then referred to Lublin. In Lublin, doctors planned surgery twice but discharged her twice without operating.
Ms. Alina’s daughter began seeking help online. This is how Ms. Alina came to Dr. Paweł Olszewski’s office in Warsaw.
“I heard from the doctor that there is a department in Poznań specializing in such reconstructions,” Ms. Alina recalls. “And the doctor referred me there. I went for a visit, but it turned out the department was being closed.”
Then the woman sought help at Międzylesie. She was promised surgery, but for six months no date was set.
“I had already lost hope. I was suffering and couldn’t walk. My daughter started writing to all investigative programs in Poland: from ‘Uwagi’ to ‘Alarm’ and ‘Interwencja.’ But no one took an interest in my case,” she admits.
Then she called Dr. Olszewski again, asking for help.
“I didn’t believe it, but a few days later, I got a call from the hospital in Białystok with a scheduled date,” she says. “And now I’ve had the surgery. I feel great. I can even walk with crutches. I’m so happy and want to shout to the whole world about the help I received here.”
The woman faces rehabilitation and learning to walk again. In some time, she will also need surgery on her other leg.
The Białystok center is already a leading prosthesis center in the region and has the potential to become a referral center for revision joint replacement surgeries throughout the entire northeastern Poland region.
“We have a good chance of performing over 50 revision joint replacements for patients referred from outside the center, which, according to NFZ rules, results in a higher reimbursement rate in the next billing period,” admits Dr. Jan Kiryluk, head physician of the Orthopedics Clinic.
The photos illustrating this post are used with the patient’s consent.
