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A 26-year-old Serbian woman who was told her leg needed to be amputated below the knee has regained the ability to walk after undergoing reconstructive surgery in Türkiye.
Lejla Gusinjac had lived for years with uncontrolled diabetes.
Two years ago, she fell down stairs but did not realize she had fractured her heel due to diabetes-related loss of sensation in her foot. She continued walking on the injured foot, unaware of the severity of the damage.
Doctors in Serbia later told her that her foot had deteriorated and required amputation up to the knee. Seeking another option, Gusinjac came to Türkiye for treatment.
At Medipol Mega University Hospital in Istanbul, Associate Professor Bilgehan Catal, an orthopedics and traumatology specialist at Medipol Health Group, led the surgical team that performed a limb-saving procedure.
Catal said diabetes can cause loss of sensation in the feet, making injuries difficult to detect.
“Our patient is 26 years old and has had uncontrolled diabetes for many years. In diabetic patients, loss of sensation can occur in the feet. For this reason, even a small fracture can progress unnoticed and lead to serious deformities,” he said.
He explained that Gusinjac had developed a severe fracture in the calcaneus, or heel bone. As she continued to put weight on it, her foot widened and deformity progressed.
During surgery, the team reconstructed the heel bone. Surgeons used bone grafts taken from her hip to carry out what Catal described as a “rescue surgery.”
“Our goal was to restore anatomy as close to normal as possible so the patient could step properly and without pain. We achieved this goal,” he said.
Catal also warned diabetic patients to closely monitor foot and ankle health.
“In patients with diabetes, foot and ankle health is extremely important. At the slightest problem, they must consult a specialist. Because of sensory loss, issues can grow to very serious levels without being noticed,” he said.
Gusinjac said she did not understand how serious her injury was after her fall.
“I fell down the stairs two years ago. I had fractures in my foot, but did not realize how serious they were. Tests in my country also did not reveal the extent of the fracture,” she said.
“Over time, I was told my foot had rotted, there was no bone left, and it needed to be amputated up to my knee. At that moment, I thought my life was over.”
She said her mother and a friend heard about Medipol and sent her medical documents to the hospital. The response gave her hope.
“For the first time, someone told me there was a solution for my foot,” she said.
Gusinjac said her doctor explained every step of the treatment process and gave her confidence before surgery.
“In the operation, bone taken from my hip was placed in my foot. I will never forget the moment I heard that fusion had begun. When I learned that you had saved my foot, my life began again. You gave me not only my foot but my hope and my life back,” she said.
She expressed gratitude to her doctor and the medical team.
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