Teenager receives one-of-a-kind leg procedure to correct disorder

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (KPTV) - A 15-year-old is one of a small group in Oregon to get a one-of-a-kind procedure to correct her leg.

On Friday, 15-year-old Naomie Wagner met with her doctor to get an update on a special frame that was put on her leg.

“I had a bowed leg and it kept me from doing a lot of things,” Wagner said. “We looked into different surgeries and procedures and we saw Dr. (Stephen) Wallace and he thought a frame would be the best.”

The frame is called a Maxframe Autostrut. Wagner is the third person in Oregon to get the procedure.

“They put in 15 or 16 pins that are going into my leg,” Wagner explained. “They actually took out part of it and it’s lengthening the top part of my leg and compressing the bottom part of my bone. My leg is going to naturally fill out and my bone is going to heal.”

SEE ALSO: Multnomah County will give drug users tin foil, straws, glass pipes

Wagner was born with a bowed leg, or pseudarthrosis of the tibia. Dr. Wallace, her orthopedic surgeon who specialized in limb deformities and limb lengthening, showed FOX 12 Wagner’s correction schedule and highlighted how her bone will change over time with help from the procedure and frame.

“The procedure is two in one,” explained Dr. Wallace. “One, we are correcting some of her deformity and the second is we are equalizing her leg length. The procedure itself was only one stage in her correction. With this external fixator we are able to correct things gradually to correct her deformity and equalize her leg length. In a couple of weeks, we hope Naomie’s legs are equal. The new bone will continue to ossify and solidify to the point where she no longer needs the frame.”

As she continues to the healing process, Wagner says she is looking forward to many things.

“After I get this off, being able to get back into sports and dance,” said Wagner. “I love dance. It’s been a very long time. Being pain free and getting back into doing things I was doing before.”

Copyright 2023 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.