Jon D. Wilson, Prosthetic and Orthotic Leader in St. Louis and Beyond

John D. Wilson, CPO, LPO, helped found P & O Care just over six years ago with Jim Weber; since then he has served as its Clinical Director, being both a prosthetist and an orthotist. Jon has a total of over 16 years experience in the field. He graduated from the Certificate Programs in Prosthetics and in Orthotics from the Northwestern University Medical School and then earned his ABC Certification in Prosthetics in 1996.

Later, after working as a prosthetist in St. Louis for a few years, Jon went back to Northwestern for his Orthotics certification and completed his residency in the fall of 2003. Whereas the State of Missouri does not require licensure in the O & P field, Jon is currently a Licensed Prosthetist and Orthotist under the State of Illinois Department of Professional Regulation.

Besides leading P & O Care’s team of nine prosthetists and orthotists here in St. Louis, Jon has been recognized as a national leader in the field of upper and lower extremity prosthetic care. In 2004, he was awarded the prestigious Howard R. Thranhardt Lecture Honorarium for his abstract “A New Concept in Prosthetic Interface Design for Hemicorporectomy Amputees Utilizing ROHO Compression Therapy.” Jon’s new invention, which utilizes a matrix of ROHO cushions inside a custom fabricated “bucket” prosthesis, enables people who have literally been cut in half to float in a seated position. With their weight and body fluid evenly distributed, they are able to lead active, mobile lives without worrying about skin breakdown. Users can get around on their own in a wheel chair (or skateboard!), and some have even driven long distances alone, instead of lying in bed.

Hemicorporectomy Prosthesis Discovered

For Michael Mason's last story, he had to travel to Baghdad. His article "Iraq's Medical Meltdown" appeared in the July issue of Discover Magazine. This time, Michael came to St. Louis. He is working on a story about one of the most radical surgeries anyone could undergo: hemicorporectomy, which in plain English means the body gets cut in half, right below the belly button.

Last Friday, Mason was in town interviewing Dr. Frank Johnson at St. Louis University, who performs the procedure, and Jon Wilson, CPO, at P&O Care, who has developed a prosthesis that helps these amputees live normal lives. Saturday, he was on to Kansas City to visit one of their patients living with the device, John Neill. Shaped like a bucket and lined with ROHO cushions to distribute pressure, the prosthesis enables hemicorporectomy, or trans-lumbar, amputees to sit upright, walk with their hands, and even drive a car. Without it, they would be confined to a bed, where they could develop the same sores that often caused their amputation.

Jon Wilson’s abstract, “A New Concept in Prosthetic Interface Design For Hemicorporectomy Amputees Utilizing ROHO Comprehension Therapy: A Case Study for a Prosthetist’s Perspective,” received the prestigious Howard R. Thranhardt Lecture Honorarium for the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association. Look for Michael Mason's story about hemicorporectomy in the September or October editions of Discover Magazine, which is currently read by about two million people every month.