Noel Fitzpatrick

Noel Fitzpatick (born 1967 [1])is an Irish neuro-orthopaedic veterinary surgeon and a pioneer of bionic development in animals. He currently operates a multi-million pound practice of some 65 employees, named Fitzpatrick Referrals, in Eashing, Surrey, England.[2][3][4] In 2009 he became the first surgeon in the world to bioengineer two bionic feet and successfully administer them to a cat named Oscar from Jersey who had lost both its feet in an accident with a combine harvester.[5]

Contents

Biography

Fitzpatrick was born in Ireland in 1967. He grew up on a farm and developed a love of animals from a young age. The day that the family failed to save a baby lamb from death gave Fitzpatrick a purpose in life; to become a veterinarian.[1]

Fitzpatrick qualified as a veterinary surgeon from University College Dublin in 1990, a received scholarships at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Ghent.[6] He spent periods at several universities in the UK and US, attaining certificates in small animal orthopaedics and radiology.

In 2008 Fitzpatrick was appointed the position of Assistant Professor at the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Surrey for his contribution to medical science.[6]

Biotechnological pioneering

Fitzpatrick is a pioneer in his field, administering biotechnology to animals. He has developed many novel techniques and technologies to save his animal patients from being put down. He claims to have got the idea of the bionic feet attached with steel rods from the character of Wolverine in the original X Men film.[1][5] He used this novel idea to provide a solution to a Labrador dog plagued with crippling arthritis.[2] As in the case with Oscar the Cat, Fitzpatrick bioengineered in collaboration with the University College London steel rods coated with hydroxyapatite which were attached to the ankle joints of the cat.[3] They were administered in such a way that it encourages the bone cells and skin to grow onto the rods and then create a resilient seal to prevent it from any infection.[3] This is unique in that if such rods were administered to a human, the body would reject the steel and infection would almost certainly follow.[5] Although the operation carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick was a world first, it mimics a natural process, being similar to the way deer grow antler bones, in the manner that the implants grow through the skin.[7] It is known as intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (ITAPs) and were developed by the head of University College London's Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Gordon Blunn and colleagues.[5] This ITAP technology is currently being tested on humans and a prosthetic has been made for a woman injured in the July 2005 London bombings.[5] Fitzpatrick has stated that he would welcome a collaborative approach with other surgeons working on human amputations.[8]

Fitzpatrick also treated an American bulldog named Roly from Hampshire who became the first dog in the world to be fitted with an artificial hip, specially designed to "sandwich" muscle with metal to restore full mobility.[4] He was also once hired by Chris Evans to help his German Shepherd dog Enzo who had two herniated discs in his spine, leaving him paralysed and in pain.[1] Fitzpatrick performed a £5,000 procedure on the nine-year-old dog and inserted two bolts in the middle of his spine to fuse two vertebrae, although the dog had to be put down the following year, as it was experiencing pain.[1]

Fitzpatrick currently appears in the series The Bionic Vet, aired on BBC 1.[5]

Publications

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Liz Thomas (June 25, 2010). "Oscar Bionic Cat Pioneering Surgery Gave TWO False Legs". London: The Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1289281/Oscar-bionic-cat-pioneering-surgery-gave-TWO-false-legs.html. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Give a Cat Two New Feet - Done!". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00syxlx. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c Wollaston, Sam (July 1, 2010). "TV review: The Bionic Vet and Reunited". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/jul/01/the-bionic-vet-review. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 
  4. ^ a b "World's First Operation For Roly The Dog". Sky News. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Roly-The-American-Bulldog-Has-Worlds-First-Prosthetic-Hip-Operation/Article/201006215646565?f=rss. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f "The Bionic Vet". BBC. 
  6. ^ a b "Noel Fitzpatrick:Managing Director". Fitzpatrick Referrals. http://fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/staff/clinicians/noel-fitzpatrick. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 
  7. ^ Morrison, Ryan (June 25, 2010). "A cat from Jersey has shot to fame as the 'bionic cat'". BBC Online (BBC Jersey). http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/jersey/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8762000/8762217.stm. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 
  8. ^ "Oscar becomes world's first bionic cat after farm accident". Herald Sun. June 26, 2010. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/oscar-becomes-worlds-first-bionic-cat-after-farm-accident/story-e6frf7lf-1225884599089. Retrieved July 1, 2010. 

External links