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My name is Jim DeWees, I also had the Ertl procedure performed on myself about 6 years ago. I had suffered a severe case of frostbite in Jan 1998 on a backcountry skiing expedition in the high Uintah mountains in Utah. I spent several weeks in the Burn Unit in Salt Lake City and had skin grafts taken from my thigh to place on my foot, trying to save my foot. This went on until March 31, 1998. I had the amputation performed at the Salt Lake Regional Medical Center by Dr. James Morgan, an orthopedic surgeon at LDS Hospital (my insurance, Anthem, would not pay for surgery at LDS Hospital, so it was done at Salt Lake Regional). I had several weeks to think about having my foot amputated, and I visited a few surgeons and did some research. I found 2 surgeons in Salt Lake City that knew how to do the Ertl procedure, and so I chose Dr. Morgan, which was an excellent choice. I was 33 years old at that time. I healed up quickly, and the atrophy of the calf muscles had already started, and I was fit with a prosthesis 3 weeks post-op. On day 21 after the amputation, I was able to play 1st base in a soft ball game. The prosthesis I had was not good, but it was better than crutches.
Within weeks of the amputation, I was back to normal pretty much. I worked at the University of Utah doing medical research in the Pathology lab, and returned to work within 2 weeks of the amputation. I was playing softball, and also back into mountain biking. As soon as the snow began to fall in November (about 8 months post op) I was back on the slopes skiing. After all the frustrations of getting a prosthesis that worked and was comfortable, I quit my job in pathology and went to the certificate program at Cal State Dominguez Hills in prosthetics and graduated from that in May 2000. I worked for Hanger in Las Vegas, and then for a small company in Indianapolis, and now I have my own business, called the Prosthetic Center of Indiana in Bloomington, IN. I also have a 29 year old patient that had the Ertl procedure done here in Indy, by a surgeon that is a good friend of mine. He is also doing very well, at least he was until he blew his knee out on his good leg playing softball this summer. Email me back if you are interested in getting some info from me to put on your website. I have a couple emails: jdewees@prostheticsindiana.com or jimmydw@insightbb.com . Both work and are checked regularly. Thanks again, as a certified prosthetist, and also an amputee, I would love to see the Ertl procedure done a lot more than it is. Jim DeWees, CP |
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