A man who was diagnosed with bone cancer after a fall has had his leg amputated and his foot sewed on backwards.
In 2015 Ibrahim Abdulrauf, then 14, took a minor tumble while playing football. The next day he woke up in pain and was unable to walk.
After a trip to A&E at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, West Midlands, he was diagnosed with a bone infection.
Ibrahim spent the next six weeks in hospital and was prescribed antibiotics.
After being discharged, the pain continued and he was sent to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham where he was eventually diagnosed with bone cancer.
Ibrahim Abdulrauf (pictured, now 22) was diagnosed with bone cancer at 14. Doctors amputated part of his leg and then sewed on his foot backwards
Rotationplasty is a procedure in which the middle part of the leg is removed and the foot and ankle are sewn on backwards
He went on to have chemotherapy for six months before doctors advised him to get a Rotationplasty, a rare operation in which the middle part of the leg is removed and the bottom is sewn on backwards.
These procedures are used because the patient retains the use of their foot, which helps them walk in their prosthesis.
The foot being backwards allows the patient to use their ankle joint to move their leg in the same way as non-amputees would use their knee.
Without the operation, Ibrahim’s cancer was at risk of spreading.
Ibrahim, now 22, said: ‘I couldn’t imagine seeing myself with a backwards foot. I was thinking that it was like Frankenstein.
‘After surgery I remember waking up completely naked. I didn’t know if they’d done the surgery or not. I lifted the bedsheet and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
‘I had a leg when I went to sleep and I woke up and my foot was backwards. The leg was bandaged but the foot was visible at the bottom.’
On the accident, he said: ‘When I got up the next morning I collapsed to the ground.
‘I had an electrocuting pain in my leg and I couldn’t put any weight on it at all.
‘I bum-shuffled down the stairs and told my mum that my leg hurt.
‘She shouted at me because she thought I was making excuses so I could miss school.’
After being diagnosed with a bone infection and staying in hospital for six weeks, Ibrahim remained at home for a further three weeks before going back to hospital as the antibiotics weren’t working.
He said: ‘I wasn’t getting any better. My pain was getting worse and I got a big lump on my leg. They thought I had a boil or a cyst.’
Ibrahim was referred to the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham, where he was eventually diagnosed with bone cancer.
After the operation, he went through another five months of chemotherapy treatment.
It took Ibrahim three years to learn to walk again. He is pictured here in rehab, which he completed in 2020
Pictured is an X-ray showing the plates and screws that join Ibrahim’s leg together
Doctors advised Ibrahim that without the operation, his bone cancer was at risk of spreading
Since the operation and learning to walk again Ibrahim is able to play sports and be fully self-sufficient
Ibrahim, a chemistry student at South and City College, said: ‘I thought I was going to die.
‘I was imagining myself dead and my parents at my funeral.’
The surgery and chemotherapy were successful and Ibrahim started rehabilitation.
He was given daily exercises to complete at home, which helped him get used to the prosthesis he now uses.
It took Ibrahim three years to learn to walk again, which he has been able to do since completing rehab in 2020.
He is now able to play sports, dance, and is self-sufficient for the first time in years.
Ibrahim said: ‘I can still play badminton. I used to play every weekend. I’m very grateful to have my independence back I can look after myself now.
‘Rotationplasty gives you a lot more function and movement. You can control the leg yourself.
‘This way I can use my own leg with my own nerves because they reattach them all after putting the leg back on.’
