Kettering Health Orthopedic Surgery Residents See the Best Prosthetic Care in Ohio in Action
Kettering Health Grandview Orthopedic Surgery Residents and Medical Students posing with Optimus Prosthetics staff and Kendra Herber, #1 Women’s Para Standing Tennis Player, before playing Pickleball at Pickleball Kingdom in Centerville.
Many orthopedic surgery and vascular surgery residents spend most of their training focused on limb preservation, wound healing, and supporting dysvascular amputees as they work toward safe daily mobility. These experiences are valuable, but they do not always show what prosthetic care can look like when design, alignment, and rehabilitation come together for peak performance.
To bridge that gap, Optimus Prosthetics hosted an educational event for the Kettering Health Grandview Orthopedic Surgery Residents in Ohio. The session featured a hands-on demonstration with Kendra Herber, one of our patients and the current number one Women’s Para Standing Tennis player. The goal was to give residents an opportunity to see the full spectrum of prosthetic mobility and understand how clinical decisions influence long-term outcomes.
How Surgical Decisions Shape Prosthetic Success
The evening began with a discussion on how both orthopedic surgery and vascular surgery decisions directly affect prosthetic potential. Topics included limb shaping, soft tissue balance, expected loading at different activity levels, and how early choices influence socket design and long-term comfort.
Kendra shared her experience as an adaptive athlete, including how specific features of her socket and alignment affect her ability to train, compete, and stay injury-free. For residents, this created a clear link between surgical technique and real-world mobility.
This portion of the event highlighted a key takeaway. Best prosthetic care depends on collaboration across specialties, and thoughtful surgical decisions create the foundation for successful prosthetic outcomes.
Mobility in Action: From Everyday Function to Elite Performance
After the educational session, residents were invited onto the pickleball courts to see these concepts applied in real movement.
Many of them played with Kendra or faced her in doubles matches. Watching her change direction, accelerate, and maintain balance during fast rallies offered a rare look at how a well-designed socket performs under athletic demands.
Seeing her move brought forward an important point. The principles that help a dysvascular amputee walk safely and confidently are the same principles that support an elite athlete. The goals are different, but the commitment to fit, alignment, communication, and follow-up is constant.
Residents were able to connect the clinical discussion with the biomechanics happening in front of them, which is something they rarely experience in a traditional training environment.
Why This Matters for Orthopedic and Vascular Surgeons in Ohio
In Ohio, where many amputations are performed due to vascular disease, most residents work primarily with patients who want to return to independence and stability. This event offered a valuable contrast by showing what is possible when advanced prosthetic design supports high-level performance.
It reinforced several core ideas:
Best prosthetic care is built on decisions made early in the surgical process.
Collaboration between surgeons, prosthetists, therapists, and the patient is essential.
Mobility goals vary, but the standards for quality and communication should remain high across all activity levels.
Whether a patient is recovering from a vascular procedure or training for international competition, the shared mission is to support safe, confident, and meaningful mobility.
A Unique Educational Experience With Long-Term Impact
We are grateful to the Kettering Health Grandview Orthopedic Surgery Residents for spending the evening with us, and to Kendra for sharing both her athletic skill and her insight as an adaptive athlete. This event created an opportunity to learn, ask questions, and see how prosthetic care functions at the highest level.
It also highlighted the broad range of outcomes that thoughtful prosthetic and surgical care can support across Ohio.
Helping patients move with confidence, regardless of their goals, remains the heart of what we do.