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Post by deejay on Sept 7, 2018 22:36:23 GMT
I am wondering if anyone here either has or has tried a patten-ended brace. That is the sort which was often used for perthes desease and kept one foot suspended above the ground and a built-up shoe on the other foot to compensate? They needed to take all weight so needed either an ischial ring or seat. I remember seeing a boy wearing one around 1960. There are a few pics on the web.
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Post by maralila on Oct 7, 2018 7:36:15 GMT
I've never seen one "in the flesh", let alone used one, but I'd love to "sit" on a conspicuous monster appliance and be that crippled... Also the huge boot on the "good" side...
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Post by balquhind on Nov 18, 2018 14:35:45 GMT
Hello, I am a very recent addition to VB and not an experienced contributor to any discussion group.I am able to offer an insight into wearing a patten-ended caliper because I spent 4 years relying on one so that I could walk. My situation has never been particularly straight forward and still isn't but I was 7 in year 2007 and had been having considerable trouble walking. My left leg hurt from hip to knee and bearing weight was sheer agony. After numerous X Rays and much prodding, my Mother was told that there was a serious hip problem, the details of which I simply forget. After one particular hospital visit, I left the place with a full leg plaster cast and the knowledge that I would need to use crutches for quite some time. My parents encouraged me to go out and about as much as possible so that I could be confident with my crutches and using just my right leg. After 7 months like this and following many examinations, the cast came off for good and I was fitted into a Perthes caliper. I had been told to wear really tiny swim briefs for the appointment which seemed odd but I soon realised why when the new caliper was put on. I had two metal bars which extended from hip/groin to maybe 4 inches beyond my foot, ending with a metal plate underneath which had a rubber sole. A metal and leather ring encased my leg at groin level so now I saw why I needed the swim briefs so small as to fit above this ring. The outside metai bar extended up to my hip and joined onto a waist belt which had a lock for when I stood up. My leg was fitted quite snug in this caliper and it was never going to take any weight now at all. My foot was in a trainer supported between the two bars by a leather strap and buckle securing it a few inches above the patten and a strap connected to either side of the rigid bars so that my leg floated off the ground whilst all the weight was taken by the ischial ring at the groin. My other trainer had been fitted with a metal and rubber extension to raise it to the height of my new device. I kept my crutches at first until I felt happy managing the caliper and additional height. Once I felt confident that I could walk after a fashion, I managed to get about like this for 4 years. My leg was kept rigid and I soon realised that I was pretty unusual. There was no way to make my handicap less obvious so I had to cope. Trousers, shorts or vacations spent in just tee shirt and micro swim briefs, all did nothing to shield me from stares and questions but frankly I had no choice. A perthes caliper is a clunky device and not something I liked but I realised that I could not manage without it so I adjusted, became strong willed and found ways to do things everyday as a young crippled kid. Once I got organised, I could strap myself into this device in 5 minutes, stand up, check my waist lock was in place and set about the day. I wore it constantly apart from in bed at which time I had to change into a full length plastic splint from foot to hip which was held on by velcro straps at variou points along my leg. To use the bathroom at night I simply used my crutches and right leg just as before when I was heavily plastered. So, not surprisingly I had many hospital visits and 4 new perthes style calipers as I grew, I still have the last one. In the final analysis I have not gained too much from all of this but retain a sense of humour and realism. My left leg had been hosting a cancerous growth whist my right leg was joining in the fun and games. In the end I was trapped by circumstances which I could not change. Now I am a Blue Badge member and owner of a car with hand controls. Aged 18 and a bit, I am back on crutches for life. There is no left leg as I am a Hemipelvectomy. The leg had to go, simple as that. The nerves in my right leg have been cut off to make me more comfortable. Structually it looks ok but I wear a HKAFO all the time and swing myself along on my crutches with my one leg rigid. Not surprising that I am still of interest to many as I get from place to place. People may like my totally empty left side, my metal caliper slotted into the heel of my shoe, or watching an amputee who so clearly depends on a pair of crutches. I am a severely disabled teenager but for now I can stay away from needing the wheelchair. At least I have some working experience of the 60s style calipers and even in 2018, I am thankful that to have one is both essential and practical in order to give me independence and confidence. In the future I may meet some of the UK members and you will see the old style hardware still in use.
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Post by rowland on Jan 19, 2020 21:41:35 GMT
Nearly forty years ago I used a car park in a small market town once a week in the evening during summer. There was a boy of about twelve kicking a football around and getting after it without trouble. He was in shorts that were probably part of his school unifom. He had a patten-ended brace on one leg. On his other leg he also had a patten to raise his foot by a few inches. The leg with the brace was clearly deformed: thin and too short. The foot of the deformed leg was held within the brace by straps and springs as though to stretch it. It is clearly possible to be active when wearing such a brace.
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Post by castmenow on Jan 21, 2020 8:56:00 GMT
The springs could have been to apply traction to the braced leg as you say to stretch it. Also on patten braces the shoe on the unused foot was often loosely attached to the brace with straps, springs or a sliding plate to keep the foot at 90 degree. This was for two reasons, the first is if the foot was left free it would naturally droop down and as the brace was worn for several years, the Achilles tendon would shrink, the second, if the foot was left free, the child would be able to walk on tip toe and bear weight. I believe that the potential for tip toe walking is one reason that the gap between the unused foot and the patten bottom was much larger than required for weight relief.
I have always been intrigued by the patten ended brace, there was a boy at my infant school in the mid 1960s who wore one for several years, he was a bit older than me and not in my group of friends. From memory, I can not recall his brace having a knee joint, this was the era when boys wore short trousers to school at this age, so his brace was on full display. The shoe raise on his good leg was like two ovals of steel rod with a few uprights between fastened to the bottom of his shoe with a rubber sole on the bottom. I never saw the top of his brace.
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Post by castmenow on Jan 21, 2020 17:24:47 GMT
This got me thinking about a pair of KAFOs that were for sale some while ago on Fantasy Leg Braces and I think they finally sold on ebay. I always wanted these but this was before I had agreement to have braces from my wife, so I never tried to buy them.
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rmar
New Member
Posts: 23
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Post by rmar on Jan 24, 2020 14:53:11 GMT
This got me thinking about a pair of KAFOs that were for sale some while ago on Fantasy Leg Braces and I think they finally sold on ebay. I always wanted these but this was before I had agreement to have braces from my wife, so I never tried to buy them. These were a pair of my braces - I had them custom made about 30 years ago. When I got a new pair from Fantasy Braces I didn't need these any longer. I will admit that they were wonderful to wear ! I would be glad to answer anyone's questions about them.
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Post by castmenow on Jan 24, 2020 21:46:30 GMT
These were a pair of my braces - I had them custom made about 30 years ago. When I got a new pair from Fantasy Braces I didn't need these any longer. I will admit that they were wonderful to wear ! I would be glad to answer anyone's questions about them. Wow, what do you replace a set of braces like this with, they seem to be a very hard act to follow. They must have taken an age to put on with the lacing and straps. Was there any specific reason for the different hinge mechanisms on the two legs, was it something to do with the load bearing through the knee joint on the patten ended brace. Was there any problem getting used to the one leg not taking any weight when you first came to use these, I imagine that until you have tried it, it is an unusual sensation, but having not experienced it I am not sure. Did the sudden extra 4" of height cause any issues, door frames, stairs, sitting down, getting into / out of cars for example. Did you go out with these on and if so did they attract any attention as they are even more unusual than metal and leather braces these days. I lusted over these when they were up for grabs, but that is a whole other issue. I do have my cravings sated now through another route, so things do come to he who waits. Read more: vintagebraces.boards.net/thread/48/patten-brace?page=1#ixzz6BzFZ67iK
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rk52
Junior Member
Posts: 79
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Post by rk52 on Jan 25, 2020 9:42:26 GMT
Yes, those do look pretty spectacular and I too wonder how you could improve on them! They look very heavy too?
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Post by castmenow on Jan 29, 2020 10:27:49 GMT
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Post by deejay on Feb 2, 2020 2:20:38 GMT
I wasnt sure if this type of brace was still used, but try searching Youtube:
Martin Perthes 2015
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Post by castmenow on Feb 2, 2020 9:10:39 GMT
Becker still sell their patten end for traditional metal and leather braces so there must still be some call for this type of brace. In the video, the boys built up left shoe does not appear to be as high as the raise on his brace.
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Post by deejay on Feb 2, 2020 22:38:04 GMT
No. It doesnt seem as high as the one I remember from childhood.
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rmar
New Member
Posts: 23
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Post by rmar on Feb 12, 2020 20:23:42 GMT
This is a response a to castmenow - Really didn't have a problem getting used to the platten. Since the other brace had the build up on the shoe my legs were the same height when I had them on. And the build up was hard leather sections which made the shoe much heaver. The ortho guy did that at my request. And yes it used to take me almost 10 minutes to get into them but that was part of the "fun". I just realized that I have never taken any pictures of the HKAOs that I replaced those with - they have a switchable section for my left leg where can put a platten end on it. I will get some pics taken and post them. I didn't ask the ortho maker why the different knee joints. I wanted the bale or loop lock on both. When I went in to try the fit he already had the two different braces made so it was too late for him to change them. The set I have know has the bale locks on both legs. I have always preferred the look of them and they are easier to open for sitting. I never go out in any of my "stuff" so I never wore that other set out or in a car. They were hard enough to get around on crutches that I never felt the need to go out due to the attention I would have drawn. I always felt that if I had ever Had to really wear braces getting used to the stares of others would have hard to deal with.
When I think back I actually envied the other kids my age that had Polio and got to wear braces. I really wanted to be like them so I could wear those neat things on my legs - of course - now I know that was a really stupid desire !! Anyway - please let me know if you have other questions.
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