A 15-month old calf named Hero gleefully received two prosthetic hooves last week after losing his hind hooves to frostbite over the frigid winter. Hero’s caretaker, Kitty Martin, searched for a solution for the calf to regain mobility. The animal surgeons at Texas A&M University knew the proper procedure for this calf, so Martin brought Hero in for treatment. Hero is the first calf that Texas A&M University’s surgeons worked on.
The surgeons removed two inches of bone to insert a cushion of tissue to enable prosthetics to connect. All components of the prosthetic hooves are made from urethane and titanium. The connecting parts are made from titanium and carbon fiber, and the leg socket devices that enable the prosthetics to attach to Hero are carbon fiber and acrylic resin. The devices cost Hero's caretaker approximately $40,000. The prosthetics have even been painted in cow print. How adorable!
This entire process has taken a year, where hero’s first prosthetic fittings occurred many months back. The treatment will continue to extend since the calf will need larger prosthetic hooves as he grows into full adult size.
If a human were to receive this same type of prosthetics, it would cost anywhere between $4,000 and $8,000 for each individual piece.
Story via Mashable
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