by SWNS
The man diagnosed with bone cancer had his leg amputated and his foot stitched back
A man diagnosed with bone cancer after a fall had his leg amputated and his foot stitched back. Ibrahim Abdulrauf, then 14, fell while playing football. He didn’t think much of it, but the next day he woke up in pain and couldn’t walk. After a trip to the emergency room at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, West Midlands, he was diagnosed with a bone infection. Ibrahim was prescribed antibiotics and sent home after six weeks in hospital. As the pain continued, he was sent to the Royal Orthopedic Hospital in Birmingham where he was eventually diagnosed with bone cancer. Doctors advised Ibrahim to have a rotationplasty, a rare operation in which the middle part of the leg is removed and the lower part is stitched back. Rotational plastic procedures are used because the patient retains the use of their foot, which helps them walk in the prosthesis. The rear foot allows the patient to use the ankle joint to move the leg in the same way that non-amputees would use the knee. Without the operation, Ibrahim’s cancer was in danger of spreading. Ibrahim, 22, said: ‘I couldn’t imagine seeing myself with one foot backwards. I thought it was like Frankenstein. ‘After the operation I remember waking up completely naked. I didn’t know if they had the operation or not. “I lifted the sheet and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “I had a leg up when I went to sleep and woke up and my foot was backwards. “The leg was bandaged but the foot was visible at the bottom.” In 2015, Ibrahim was playing football with his brother’s brother when he fell after a hard tackle. After the fall, he felt uncomfortable but went to bed that night expecting to feel better in the morning. When he woke up the next day, things had taken a turn. He was in agony and unable to walk. Ibrahim said: ‘When I got up the next morning I collapsed on the floor. ”I was in excruciating pain in my leg and I couldn’t put any weight on it. leg hurt. She “she yelled at me because she thought I was making up excuses to make me miss school.” Ibrahim eventually convinced his mother to take him to the emergency room, where doctors diagnosed him with a bone infection. He was in hospital for six weeks where he was given antibiotics to treat the infection. Ibrahim was at home for three weeks before returning to hospital as the antibiotics weren’t working. He said, “I wasn’t getting better. My pain was getting worse and I had a big lump on my leg. They thought I had a furuncle or a cyst.” Ibrahim was referred to the Royal Orthopedic Hospital in Birmingham where he was eventually diagnosed with bone cancer. He continued to undergo chemotherapy for six months before the doctors decided to operate and perform a rotational plasty. After the operation, he underwent another five months of chemotherapy treatment. Ibrahim, a chemistry student at South and City College, said: ‘I thought I was going to die. I was imagining myself dead and my parents at my funeral.’ The surgery and chemotherapy were successful and Ibrahim started rehabilitation. He was given daily exercises to complete at home, which helped him get used to the prosthesis he now uses. It took Ibrahim three years to learn to walk again, which he has been able to do since completing rehabilitation in 2020 She is now able to play sports, dance and is self-sufficient for the first time in years. Ibrahim said: ‘I can still play badminton. I played every weekend. I am very grateful to have my independence back, now I can take care of myself. “Rotational plastic gives you a lot more function and movement. You can control the leg yourself. “That way I can use my leg with my nerves because they all reattach them after I put my leg back.”
