Stunning Medical Procedure Saves A Boy’s Baseball Dream
Dugan Smith had cancer in his thigh bone. He was going to die without extreme measures. His dad had an opinion on what to do. So did his mom. But they decided to ask their son, who would hopefully be able to live with whatever came next.
The third choice was extremely rare. It was a procedure done maybe a dozen times a year in the U.S. It’s called rotationplasty. Dugan’s lower leg would be detached, turned 180 degrees, and reattached higher. That would allow his ankle muscles and ligaments to do the job of his knee. Basically: his ankle would serve as a backwards knee. So his foot would be at the end of his thigh, and he could place it into a prosthetic and have more control over it.
