When 12-year-old Rhealynn and her mom traveled more than 1,000 miles from Georgia to Minnesota, they came with one goal: a hip disarticulation prosthesis that could help Rhealynn run, pitch, and live life without limits. Her previous sockets were oversized, reducing speed and balance and making it hard to enjoy the activities she loves.
At Limb Lab, our mission was clear: create a solution that improved comfort, restored mobility, and supported Rhealynn’s lifestyle. For families seeking advanced pediatric prosthetic care, her story shows how innovation and patient-centered design can make anything possible.
Here’s how we approach this complex prosthetic design and how Rhealynn is doing today.
Rhealynn’s family embodies the classic Southern lifestyle: full of warmth, resilience, and a love for the outdoors. They enjoy hunting, fishing, and horseback riding. Staying active is an important part of her life, and her prosthesis needs to help support her lifestyle. Rhealynn and her older brother are fiercely competitive yet incredibly close, always cheering each other on. When asked about her favorite baseball team, she proudly replied, “My brother’s team.”
A hip disarticulation prosthesis replaces the entire leg from the hip down, including an artificial hip, knee, and foot, all connected to a custom socket around the pelvis. This level of limb loss brings unique challenges in alignment, socket design, and motion.
Because users move the prosthetic leg by rotating the pelvis, every detail matters. A high socket can restrict motion, so our approach uses a lower-profile bikini-style socket anchored around the iliac crest, offering stability without limiting mobility. It’s an intricate process that requires innovative design and a deep understanding of how the body moves, principles that guide every solution we create for patients.
Rhealynn’s journey started with a spark of inspiration. After watching a video of Sami, a young Limb Lab patient running with a hemipelvectomy prosthesis, she knew she wanted the same freedom of movement.
“In softball, her pitching has been very limited and there have been restrictions for running, so that was a big goal coming here,” shared Revana, Rhealynn’s mom.
“At first, Rhealynn was a little hesitant,” explained Brandon Sampson, her prosthetist and a Limb Lab Founder. “Our approach to creating a hip disarticulation prosthesis uses techniques that are unique to us and are very different from what she was used to. The moment she tried on her test socket for the first time, I could see her walls come down.”
Through its destination care program, our team energetically committed to evaluate, design, fabricate, fit, and deliver Rhealynn’s custom hip disarticulation prosthesis in three days. The compressed timeline required precise coordination and collaboration across every stage of the process.
Day 1 – Evaluation, Casting and Test Socket:
Day 2 – Custom Fabrication:
Day 3 – Final Fitting and Dynamic Alignment:
Now, Rhealynn is back home in Georgia running and playing softball with confidence. Her family continues to share updates and she grows stronger every day.
“Even after the first fitting, she had so much more movement and was moving faster than before,” Revana told us.
For complex prosthetic needs like hip disarticulations and hemipelvectomies, specialized expertise matters. Through our destination care program, patients receive coordinated, expedited care in one location: evaluation, fabrication, alignment, delivery, and education, within days versus weeks.
Don’t have a clinic near you? Ask about destination care and traveling to Limb Lab, like Rhealynn did.
After insurance approval, a hip disarticulation prosthesis typically takes about 2–3 weeks. The timeline can vary based on fit, alignment needs, or if the care team recommends using a test socket during physical therapy before moving to the final prosthesis.
A hip disarticulation prosthesis can be evaluated, fabricated, fitted, and delivered in as little as three days to one week through Limb Lab’s destination care program. Because the entire process takes place on-site, a multidisciplinary team can work closely together and make adjustments throughout the process, helping streamline care for patients traveling from out of state.
Sitting is largely based on personal preference. Some people loosen the socket or partially remove the prosthesis before sitting, while others prefer to sit toward the edge of the chair and lean back slightly. For longer car rides, many individuals choose to remove the prosthesis entirely for comfort.
When you sit with a hip disarticulation prosthesis, the hip joint is positioned at the front of the socket, not underneath, so the joint folds as you bend and you sit on the base of the socket. As prosthetists, we work carefully to ensure your hips are level when sitting. If the socket lifts the amputated side too high, it can cause imbalance, hip pain, or back discomfort, so precise alignment is key for comfort.
A hip disarticulation prosthesis should always be comfortable – as should every prosthesis – when the socket design, alignment, suspension, and fit are properly customized to the individual. Modern socket designs, such as bikini-style socket variations for appropriate candidates, can improve comfort and pelvic range of motion. Patients may require adjustments as they adapt to the prosthesis.
As your child grows, many adjustments can be made without replacing the entire prosthesis. The pylon (the long metal tube connecting the components) can simply be replaced with a longer one to accommodate growth. Your prosthetist will monitor your child’s growth, adjust the fit as needed, and recommend a new socket or prosthesis only when appropriate.
Yes. Children with hip disarticulation can participate in running and other physical activities with an appropriately designed and fitted prosthesis.