EXCLUSIVE


This is the first amputee who can feel cold, pressure and pain through a prosthetic arm – and move the artificial fingers using her brain. 

Melissa Loomis, of Canton, Ohio, had her right arm amputated last fall after a seemingly innocuous raccoon bite developed into a life-threatening infection. 

The devastating ordeal left the 43-year-old depressed and fearing for her life.

But she was given a lifeline: the orthopedic hand surgeon who treated her, Dr Ajay Seth, realized she would be the perfect candidate for a revolutionary new technique.

The novel surgery, never-before-performed in the US, allows redirection of nerves to move a prosthesis with the brain – so she can move it and feel her fingers.

Experts have hailed the operation as ‘revolutionary’, branding Melissa ‘the most advanced amputee in the world’. 

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Melissa Loomis (pictured) had her arm amputated last fall after an innocuous raccoon bite developed into a life-threatening infection. But now she can feel with her prosthetic arm

This is Melissa’s prosthetic arm, which she detached for her TV appearance to demonstrate how it works. Just using her brain, she can make it move and can feel touch sensations

Melissa will reveal full details of her ordeal and new prosthesis to Dr Travis Stork on Wednesday’s episode of The Doctors, the syndicated daytime talk show.

And she demonstrates moving the state-of-the-art arm. 

First, in a clip shared exclusively with Daily Mail Online, you can see a glimpse of the devastating journey that brought her to this point.  

‘It was like every other morning, my dogs wake me up to go outside,’ Melissa explains. 

‘Then I heard this horrible screeching noise and there’s a raccoon on the fence.

‘I ran over there, shooing the raccoon, and my dog Vivi grabbed it by the tail. I went to grab the two dogs by their collars – I was trying to protect the raccoon.

‘The raccoon latched on to my arm. I knew he bit me. I could just feel electricity shooting down my arm.’

She went straight to the hospital. But they insisted it was just a scratch. 

After a rabies shot, a tetanus shot, and a prescription of antibiotics, she was sent home.

Days later her shooting pains escalated and doctors found one of the worst infections they’d ever encountered.   

Dr Seth said that Melissa’s injury (pictured) just looked like a regular bite when she returned to the hospital in pain. But when he made the first incision all this bacteria came pouring out

On the 11th day of treatment in the ICU, Melissa developed sepsis (pictured)

Dr Seth told Melissa he’d have to amputate; she said to do anything to save her life

‘This was absolutely the worst infection I have seen in my entire career,’ Dr Seth (above) said

HOW DOES MELISSA’S PROSTHETIC ARM WORK?

When Dr Seth amputated Melissa’s arms, he severed nerves which are still firing messages from the brain. 

The novel surgery, never-before-performed in the US, allows redirection of nerves to connect with wires on a prosthesis. 

It is called TSR/TMR (Targeted Muscle Reinnervation and Targeted Sensory Reinnervation) surgery.

Dr. Seth utilized AxoGen’s AxoGuard Nerve Protector to help protect the transferred nerves. 

It is the only nerve wrap available made from natural tissue rather than collagen. 

That means she can move the prosthesis with her brain, and also sense pressure and temperature.

‘By the time I saw Melissa, she had been on two or three rounds of different antibiotics and 24 hours of IV antibiotics,’ Dr Seth recalls.

‘When you looked at her arm it just looked like a regular small little bite.

‘When I made the first incision all this bacteria came pouring out.

‘This was absolutely the worst infection I have seen in my entire career.’

Melissa underwent more than eight surgeries with no progress. 

At that point, she felt sure she was going to die. 

And then, on the 11th day of treatment in the ICU, she developed sepsis. Her temperature was over 103, and her heart rate topped 140. 

‘Dr Seth said, “this is it, I’m sorry, I could save your arm”,’ Melissa remembers. 

‘I told him, “save my life”.’  

With amputation a certainty, Dr Seth decided to propose a new procedure to Melissa. 

He had heard about it at a conference in Canada months before.

But this was the first surgery in the U.S. that allowed an amputee to move a prosthetic arm with thoughts alone.

Beyond that, Melissa is also the first American amputee who can actually feel the sense of touch that was restored in all five fingers via the prosthetic hand.

The state of the art prosthetic being used is still a prototype, is initially being developed for use by the military, and is the only one of its kind. 

It is designed for a 200 lb male soldier. 

Melissa’s successful test is proof that women, military women and civilians alike, will benefit greatly from this developing technology.

During the TSR/TMR (Targeted Muscle Reinnervation and Targeted Sensory Reinnervation) surgery, Dr. Seth utilized AxoGen’s AxoGuard Nerve Protector to help protect the transferred nerves. 

It is the only nerve wrap available made from natural tissue rather than collagen. 

With this medical miracle, she can also sense pressure and temperature. 

‘She’s so advanced, she’s way too advanced for us,’ Dr Seth tells The Doctors in tomorrow’s episode.

Experts have hailed the operation as ‘revolutionary’, branding Melissa ‘the most advanced amputee in the world’

‘She can feel touch, pressure, cold – when you put an ice cube on her arm, instantly her fingers go cold.’  

In an episode airing on Wednesday, Melissa and Dr. Seth join The Doctors on stage to demonstrate this cutting edge medical science.

They will show the audience how she can control the prosthetic with just her thoughts and feel through a piece of machinery. 

The technology is not yet widely available and researchers hope for government and public funding to further advance this technology to be available in the future to the masses.

Speaking on tomorrow’s episode of The Doctors, Dr Seth explains that Melissa suffers what is called ‘phantom pain’ since the nerves he severed for the amputation are still constantly firing. 

Phantom pain is a phenomenon that afflicts people who have lost limbs. 

It is a pain that feels as if it is coming from a part of the body that is no longer there. 

In many amputees this pain subsides over time. 

Dr Seth has rewired Melissa’s nerves to capitalize on this sensation, and link it to an artificial arm.  

‘Her brain actually thinks her hand is here now,’ Dr Seth explained, gesturing to his elbow. 

‘We’ve tricked her brain.’ 

Melissa added: ‘I feel like my hand is right at the end of my stump.’  

  • Melissa’s full story airs on Wednesday September 28 on The Doctors. Viewers should check local listings or visit the show’s website for more information 
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