World's First Bionic Cat
Oscar the bionic cat: Pioneering surgery gives poor moggie TWO false back legs
By Liz Thomas
Last updated at 8:23 AM on 25th June 2010
Last updated at 8:23 AM on 25th June 2010
Nine months ago he was fighting for his life after an horrific accident cost him both his back paws. Now Oscar is a bionic cat after pioneering surgery to give him prosthetic back paws.
The two year-old moggie is understood to be the first in the world to have the operation to attach new feet. Oscar was operated on by groundbreaking veterinary surgeon Noel Fitzpatrick.
Oscar, the cat with a pair of prosthetic paws, courtesy of neuro-orthopaedic surgeon Noel Fitzpatrick
Healing with prosthetics, titanium and other metals – he sounds like the stuff of science fiction.
But actually he is the modern answer to All Creatures Great and Small and now he – and Oscar – are set to be the
stars of new BBC show The Bionic Vet.
The series follows Fitzpatrick, 40, as he tries to save animals using cutting edge technology, while Oscar is the star of the first episode.
An image of a pre-operation scan of Oscar's leg
Viewers will hear how beautiful black cat had his black paws sliced off by a combine harvester after he had gone out to play in fields near his home.
Losing blood and barely conscious he was close to death when he was found and owner Michael Nolan was warned to expect the worst. The bank manager from Jersey said: ‘He was out in the corn fields. He was found by a neighbour. He had no back feet left it was horrific. There was blood everywhere. Bits of his skin were hanging off.’ Both his back paws were severed, and while cats can survive with good quality of life with three legs, they cannot with two.
Fitzpatrick devised a way of attaching prosthetic ‘paws’ to Oscar’s ankle in both back paws.
‘We will have to put new feet on him or put him to sleep. The procedure has never been done before.’ said the vet.
The audience will see how over a three hour operation he drilled holes into the cat’s legs and inserted metal rods into his ankle bones.
These cutting edge implants – known as an ITAP and developed by University College London – attaches to the bone at the point of amputation.
It sticks out of the skin enabling a prosthetic paws to be attached.
These have been specially made with a degree of wobble to enable Oscar to walk, climb and run.
The groundbreaking new paws are similar to the style of Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius’s ‘blade runner’ style prosthesis.
But Oscar will now have to be a house cat because the false limbs are not suitable for outdoor life.
Noel Fitzpatrick, neuro-orthopaedic surgeon, and kennel assistant Jane Kilner, with Oscar the cat
Fitzpatrick admits that he has become a last hope for desperate owners who have run out of options for their beloved pets.
The first episode also follows Mayo an eight year old Labrador crippled by arthritis who faces being put down.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Professor Gordon Blunn and his team at University College London developed the Intraosteous Transcutaneous Amputation Prosthesis (ITAP) in 2006.
Based on the way deer’s skin and fur moulds around antlers, it is a titanium metal implant which attaches to the bone at the point of amputation so that it sticks out through the skin.
Traditionally attaching metal to skin and bone has left the patient susceptible to infection but the new method enables skin and soft tissue to mesh and grow around the metal rod acting as a protective seal. This makes the implant more flexible as it acts like part of the bone rather than an attachment. Once healed the prosthetic limbs are simply screwed on to the external bit of the ITAP. In Oscar’s case both his back paws were cut off just below the ankle – as cat’s walk on their toes he needed both replacing otherwise his quality of life would have been so poor he faced being put down. Noel Fitzpatrick used two ITAPs on the animal drilling into his ankle bone on both back paws before sliding in the two metal rods. The three-hour procedure was fraught with difficulty as cat’s ankles bones are narrow and could have fractured under the strain of the drill. Once Oscar had healed he was then able to have his first prosthetic paws attached, which were made of rubber. He has now been given cutting edge ‘blade runner’ style paws made of rubber and metal, which will help him run and climb with greater ease.
Four pairs of longer lasting prosthetic paws have had to be made as he wore through his first set in weeks.
Based on the way deer’s skin and fur moulds around antlers, it is a titanium metal implant which attaches to the bone at the point of amputation so that it sticks out through the skin.
Traditionally attaching metal to skin and bone has left the patient susceptible to infection but the new method enables skin and soft tissue to mesh and grow around the metal rod acting as a protective seal. This makes the implant more flexible as it acts like part of the bone rather than an attachment. Once healed the prosthetic limbs are simply screwed on to the external bit of the ITAP. In Oscar’s case both his back paws were cut off just below the ankle – as cat’s walk on their toes he needed both replacing otherwise his quality of life would have been so poor he faced being put down. Noel Fitzpatrick used two ITAPs on the animal drilling into his ankle bone on both back paws before sliding in the two metal rods. The three-hour procedure was fraught with difficulty as cat’s ankles bones are narrow and could have fractured under the strain of the drill. Once Oscar had healed he was then able to have his first prosthetic paws attached, which were made of rubber. He has now been given cutting edge ‘blade runner’ style paws made of rubber and metal, which will help him run and climb with greater ease.
Four pairs of longer lasting prosthetic paws have had to be made as he wore through his first set in weeks.
Fitzpatrick said: ‘Mayo’s foot has completely collapsed. He can’t walk. His foot is hanging off. If we can’t fix this then we will have to put him to sleep.’ His owner Janice Lock added: ‘His normal vet said there was nothing more that he could do for him. This is his last chance.’ Inspired by X-Men character Wolverine who has a metal bonded to his skeleton Fitzpatrick inserted a number of rods into Mayo’s paw to help fuse the bones before constructing him a horseshoe shaped artificial foot made of metal and rubber. Both procedures cost thousands of pounds but most is covered by animal insurance. Fitzpatrick has insisted he is not simply experimenting what can be done on animals and will only operate if he feels the quality of life is improved. He explained he would not perform surgery if it prolonged the animals life but left it in pain. ‘I know where to draw the line. Animals are sentient creatures, with needs and wants. Doing a procedure just because it can be done is not ethical. I’ll only do it if the perceived outcome improves the animal’s quality of life.’
Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans asked Fitzpatrick to help his beloved German Shepherd Enzo who had two herniated discs in his spine, leaving him paralysed and in pain. Fitzpatrick operated two years ago performing a £5,000 procedure on the nine-year-old dog had two bolts inserted in the middle of his spine to fuse two vertebrae.
But a year later when Enzo’s condition deteriorated the pair opted to put the dog down rather than put him through anymore surgery.
His surgery Fitzpatrick’s Referrals in Surrey is a state of the art facility that would rival many human hospitals.
The centre includes a MRI room, and a hydrotherapy pool, and he often works with human doctors.
In a recent procedure for a Belgian shepherd, who was given a unique prosthetic paw attached to a titanium rod implanted directly into Storm’s fore leg. He worked with a human plastic surgeon to help join the dog’s skin with the metal prosthetic.
The operation has been a success and Storm has been so active he has to have his prosthetic replaced after wearing it out.
Oscar is fed by the pioneering British surgeon who gave him two false feet
Fitzpatrick is also working with Formula One mechanics to get the best material for his fake paws.
In a recent interview he insisted the technology could provide benefits for humans in the long term.
‘The technology will act as a model for human amputees in the future, and provide hope for people without feet or hands,’ he said.
Fitzpatrick, who tried his hand at acting for a few years, said he first decided he wanted to be a vet after growing up on his family’s farm in Ireland and failed to save a baby lamb.
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