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Rare procedure gives 12-year-old cancer patient an alternative to amputation

His foot is backwards and attached where his knee would be. Medical staff at UC Davis Children's Hospital performed the surgery to give Jace a working joint.

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Instead of staring at 12-year-old Jace Curtis, he would rather you ask about his leg. He’s undergone a rare procedure called "rotationplasty", and at first glance, it looks strange.

His foot is backwards and attached where his knee would be. Medical staff at UC Davis Children’s Hospital performed the surgery to give Jace a working joint.

“I tell people this is my knee. So, when the prosthetic is on, my leg will bend," he said.

Jace has osteosarcoma, a painful cancer that splintered his femur, which ultimately was amputated. Symptoms started showing up during P.E. class. Jace is an active middle schooler who loves to skateboard, play sports with his siblings, and take care of the animals on his small farm in Chico.

"I want to play soccer and learn to walk again," said Jace. And he will, thanks to the rotationplasty surgery.

Jace with his mom and siblings.

Fewer than a dozen rotationplasty surgeries are performed each year in the U.S. The procedure allows for a working joint where a prosthetic can be attached, but it only works for certain patients in certain situations. Jace’s mom, Ivy Dawn Sistrunk, had to make a tough decision when doctors told her that Jace was a candidate.

"I remember when the doctor first explained it to us. It was hard to imagine it and I immediately thought, 'How was Jace going to handle this?'" Sistrunk said she talked it over with Jace, and they made the decision together.

"I knew that Jace was not the kind of guy that will get an amputation and be told he can't do certain things that he loves," she said. "I figured that if they saved the bottom of the leg and tried to do the rotationplasty, it's better because you can't reverse it [the full amputation]. Can't go back once the leg is gone."

Jace is anxious to get fitted for his prosthetic, but before that he has to finish his final rounds of chemo and physical therapy. It’s been a long journey for Jace and his family. He spent six months in the hospital, and even had a birthday there.

"I was scared that I wasn't going to make it, and now when I think back, I don't know. I was scared, but now I'm not," Jace said.

Jace Curtis and his mom, Ivy Dawn Sistrunk.

Thanks to the specialty care he received at UC Davis Children's Hospital, Jace will be able to walk out of his hospital room. When he does, Jace wants to leave on a positive note. He will be using his birthday money to give gifts of encouragement to other children in the hospital.

"I want to go get little toys together for kids in the hospital when I go, and hand them out."

In Jace’s mind, good treatment inspires a great outlook on life.

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