Scott Putney

Scott Putney has spent half of his life with a prosthesis. When he was younger, he had an accident on his motorcycle fracturing one of his legs and severing his other leg at impact. After several months of being hospitalized, Putney was released and underwent a year long recovery.

After leaving the hospital Putney relied on a wheelchair, crutches and a walker to get by, and it wasn’t until a year after his accident that he was fit with his first prosthesis. Unfortunately, he lived in discomfort most of his prosthetic life, unable to walk comfortably on a leg that often wasn’t the correct fit.

“I went to several different prosthetic outlets searching for the ‘perfect fit’ and it just seemed like we were spinning our wheels, nothing was fitting correctly,” said Putney. “The pain was excruciating at times and I had many breakdowns on my stump because all of it was grafted skin.”

Skin grafts may help to preserve residual limb length and joint function; however, literature suggests that they may make the patient more susceptible to complications. The residual limb doesn’t stay the same size all day when wearing a prosthesis and patients can lose a percentage of the residual limb’s total volume, which leaves the prosthesis loose.  This can result in serious breakdowns, which can promote infection.  Putney eventually had to have a surgical revision to his stump.

Putney met Matt Bulow in Nashville, but lost touch with him when Matt left the practice Putney used. It wasn’t until Putney’s mother saw an article in the local newspaper about Bulow BioTech Prosthetics opening an office in Nashville that Putney reconnected with Matt.

“It comes down to who you think is going to do the best work for you,” said Putney. “Over the years you get to know who the good prosthetists are. The folks at Bulow BioTech keep up with all the latest technology and their expertise level is very high,” he added. “And it doesn’t hurt that they are very committed and genuinely care about your needs. I have been impressed with the entire staff; they are very professional, yet entirely approachable.”

And today, thanks to Bulow BioTech, Putney is wearing a limb that is just right for his physical needs — including the Harmony vacuum pump/socket on a Renegade® foot. The prosthesis features an elevated vacuum-assisted socket system that increases comfort, mobility and daily activities by controlling volume fluctuation and reducing forces to the residual limb. A special liner also helps increase suspension and allows the wearer to be more aware of how the artificial limb is fitting.

“I would recommend Matt and Bulow BioTech to anyone out there who can’t walk correctly or comfortably in their prosthesis,” said Putney. “I am very satisfied with my new leg; the fit is 100 percent better than before.”

Putney, a middle school social studies teacher, lives in Nashville with his family. He enjoys working in his yard, moderate hiking, canoeing and coaching his son’s soccer team.