It is every home handyman’s fear – falling off a ladder. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Delta’s Ed Maisey. He was cleaning the windows on his home when he lost his footing and landed on the ground in between the lawn and garden bed.
Ed’s ankle took the brunt of the fall. “My foot was facing inward,” he recalls, “My ankle was completely destroyed.”
Shortly after his fall, Ed underwent surgery to repair his very badly damaged ankle. Hoping that would be it for surgeries, Ed started his healing journey. Six weeks later, however, Ed was back in the hospital with a rare infection related to the metal inserted into his ankle during surgery. The infection was aggressive, causing a large open wound to appear in front of his lower leg where it joins the foot.
Ed became a regular at the wound care clinic at Surrey Memorial Hospital over the next while, visiting them every second day for months. He credits their expert care with saving his tendons, which were severely compromised due to the nature of the wound. Ed had been told that there was a strong chance he could lose his foot, but due to their great care, the ankle healed to where he could undergo reconstructive surgery.
Ed was introduced to Dr. Imran Ratanshi, a Lead Reconstructive Craniofacial Surgeon and Microsurgeon who works at Surrey Memorial Hospital and Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre.
“My full recovery from the wound ordeal started when I met Dr. Ratanshi,” says Ed. Dr. Ratanshi was able to close the wound completely, using an innovative method of transferring tissue from Ed’s thigh to his ankle. In order to keep such large units of tissue alive, this technique involves connecting tiny blood vessels by hand under the microscope (called ‘microsurgery’). Assisted by an advanced surgical microscope to sew the tiny arteries and veins together, and a new intra-operative fluorescence imaging system (SPY Elite™) to visualize circulation in the transferred tissue, Ed’s surgery went flawlessly. His limb was saved – he could walk again! Both pieces of equipment were recent purchases by Surrey Hospitals Foundation.
Dr. Ratanshi is one of Surrey’s newest surgeons, and one of the many talented specialist surgeons on the team. Investment in innovative surgical equipment helps attract and retain these specialists to our community.
