Medically Reviewed by Jason B. O’Dell, MD

After years of living with limited mobility and chronic pain, Wilhelmina Cassidy gained a new lease on life thanks to a remarkable limb-lengthening procedure performed by Dr. Jason O’Dell at McLeod Orthopaedics in Florence.

A Life Interrupted by Injury

Wilhelmina’s active lifestyle was upended in 2010 after a devastating accident. While unloading boxes from a trailer, she slipped and broke her left leg and multiple bones in both her feet, leaving her with several compound fractures. As a result of the accident, Wilhelmina underwent 13 surgeries and procedures to repair and restore her feet, and after healing, her left leg was shorter than her right leg by two and a half inches. Over the years, this discrepancy caused her left leg and foot to rotate inward, resulting in pain, instability, and difficulty walking. She eventually relied on a wheelchair and relied heavily on her family for help getting around.

A New Hope with Limb Lengthening

At the urging of her primary care provider, Jackie Stafford, DNP, with McLeod Primary Care Cheraw, Wilhelmina met with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jason O’Dell.

“When I met Dr. O’Dell, he studied my leg, thought for a minute, and looked at me and said, ‘I can fix that, but you will have to work with me,’” said Wilhelmina.

After evaluating her condition, Dr. O’Dell offered a glimmer of hope: limb lengthening surgery.

In October 2023, Dr. O’Dell performed Wilhelmina’s surgery at McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence.

According to Dr. O’Dell, “In the limb lengthening process, the first step is surgery, where we create a gap in the bone and install the external fixator, which is a lengthening device attached to the bone with pins from the outside. In Wilhelmina’s case, we used a ‘double frame,’ which allowed us to correct and compress angulation at the lower leg while simultaneously lengthening the leg above. Then, the bone is slowly separated. We can lengthen a leg by about one millimeter a day, and once the leg is at the correct length, the body will naturally grow new bone to fill the gap.”

Precision and Patience

For Wilhelmina, the recovery was a family affair. Her husband, Warren, turned the fixator pins each day with a specialized tool, allowing for slow and steady bone growth. The process spanned several months, with close follow-up visits showing her leg gradually straightening and lengthening.

Once the desired length was reached and new bone had formed, Wilhelmina returned for a final procedure to remove the fixator and insert a stabilizing plate.

Walking Toward Independence

Throughout the recovery, Wilhelmina remained committed to her outpatient physical therapy in Cheraw. Her hard work paid off—within a year, she was walking unassisted, wearing normal shoes, and enjoying life again.

“I thank God when I get out of bed each morning, that I can walk again and do the things I enjoy,” she says. “I can go up and down the steps, and I am able to help care for my mother again.”

Not only did the surgery restore balance and function to her legs, but it also resolved the associated pain in her knees, hips, and back.

Wilhelmina credits her transformation to Dr. O’Dell and his dedicated team.

“I’m so grateful to Dr. O’Dell and all the nurses and doctors who work with him. He is a good doctor and a good man, and I would recommend him to everyone,” Wilhelmina adds.