“It is an entirely new quality of life. I can perform movements without which I have functioned for the last 14 years. But I do have to learn everything from scratch,” says JWO Tomasz Rożniatowski. He is the first veteran in Poland to receive a prosthetic arm connected directly to the bone by means of an implant, and controlled by signals sent from the muscles.

“Today I put on a T-shirt, then my uniform at work. It took some twisting and turning, but I did it alone. A huge accomplishment, wouldn’t you say?” laughs Tomasz Rożniatowski. He is the first Pole using an ultra-modern prosthetic arm mounted on an implant inserted into the stump.

He was severely injured and lost his left arm 14 years ago, during the mission in Afghanistan. Since then, he has learned to live without it – he returned to active service, practiced sports, even competed in multiple disciplines. However, his daily life had its limitations and required constant compromises. The first real opportunity to change the way things were came about in the fall of 2025.

Prosthesis that Did not Work

Earlier, Rożniatowski had a socket prosthesis. “It didn’t serve any of its functions,” he recalls. “The straps hurt my armpits when I sweated, it slipped off, the electrodes didn’t conduct impulses properly, and there were times it would move on its own, without my control.” In practice, it meant he barely used it at all. “For over a dozen years I basically functioned without a prosthesis. You could say I got used to living without an arm,” he says. The right side of the body took the entire burden of daily activities, so, unsurprisingly, at one point it rebelled against him. The scoliosis became increasingly painful, he also had problems with his right shoulder. “My torn biceps, strained tendon and ligament all required medical intervention so that I could continue to use at least one arm normally,” says Rożniatowski. He never thought about another prosthesis. He heard about modern solutions, better than the one he used, and about veterans with new limbs. But in Poland? Financial reasons alone made such an option seem completely out of reach.

That was when his coach, Col Mariusz Denkiewicz, Head of the Central Military Sports Team, decided to take action. He convinced the soldier to consult with Dr. Damian Zaborowski, specialist in orthopedics and traumatology of the musculoskeletal system. During the examination, it turned out that Rożniatowski was eligible for osseointegration – a surgical technique that had previously been used in Poland only for lower limbs.

The procedure involves inserting a titanium implant in the bone, and then attaching a prosthesis to it. This provides for a stable connection and completely new possibilities of controlling the prosthesis. “It was a difficult decision, because the implant stays in the bone for good,” says Rożniatowski. “I wondered how it would work, if it would integrate properly, but in the end I decided it was the only way to improve the quality of my life.”

He had the surgery in September. The team of doctors took care of his right shoulder and inserted the implant in the stump of his left arm. It took three months before it fully integrated with the bone. Meanwhile, an advanced prosthesis, individually tailored to his body parameters, was being developed for Rożniatowski at the Orthopedic Works in Rzeszów.

Technological Leap

“Only when you are missing an arm do you realize how much effort it takes to perform everyday activities such as opening a bottle, doing up buttons or getting dressed,” says Rożniatowski. Although he was successful as an athlete, he was not able to function on a daily basis without the support of his family and friends. “Try to tie your shoe laces with one hand. Difficult, isn’t it?” he asks. “How about cutting a slice of bread? Or putting your watch on the right wrist with your right hand?”

Now he is learning everything from scratch. The possibilities that the new prosthetic arm offers are impressive. “An electronic elbow and wrist, fingers that bend in multiple configurations, which gives you 24 types of grips, including very precise ones, and a lifting capacity of 30 kg,” lists Tomasz Rożniatowski. There are also limitations – the prosthesis is not waterproof, so you can forget about swimming. “Even so, it is a leap to premium class,” asserts the veteran enthusiastically.

A New Version of Daily Life

Now starts the most difficult phase – learning. “Anyone who thinks that you just put the prosthesis on and everything works perfectly from the start, is sorely mistaken,” he explains. “We don’t realize how many processes are behind our every movement: thought, impulse, control. I have to learn it from scratch.” Controlling the prosthetic arm involves consciously tensing specific muscles with appropriate force. “I have to think if I want to tense the muscle more or less. The prosthesis picks up the impulse and translates it into movement. With a natural arm it happens automatically. Here, every action is deliberate. Controlling the speed, angle and range of movement is not that easy.”

Therefore, the initial days with the new arm are far from joyous, they require a lot of hard work. “I mainly exercise at home, in peace, without pressure. Two, three hours a day,” he says. “I don’t want to strain the muscles that haven’t been used for the last 14 years. If you don’t see immediate progress, it’s easy to lose motivation and get discouraged. It requires a lot of patience,” explains Rożniatowski.

Small Steps, Big Change

There already are some visible effects. “I have driven a car. I have put on my uniform without help. When I talk to someone, I can naturally cross my arms,” he says. “These are small things most people don’t notice or appreciate.”

Rożniatowski knows that he still has a long way to go before he fully masters the use of his prosthesis. He compares the learning process to the way children learn to control their bodies – from big, imprecise movements, to small, fully controlled gestures. “I’m still a long way from the latter,” he admits. “But it’s just a matter of work and determination. For the time being, he wears a so-called cosmetic prosthesis for most of the day. It does not offer the same possibilities as the proper one, but when mounted on the implant, it helps the body to get accustomed to the weight. “Besides, I feel much better when I look in the mirror and see a full sleeve. It’s an entirely different life,” assures Tomasz Rożniatowski.

In the near future, he plans to focus on his health. Although he is not giving up sports, health is now his priority. “The past year was very difficult in this respect – injuries, appendectomy, and surgery on both shoulder joints took a heavy toll on me,” he says. He is also making a name for himself in a completely new role. “I was offered a great opportunity and I took it – I’m appearing in a TV series. I’m not planning anything in this respect, I’m waiting patiently to see how things develop, because in life it often happens that people make plans and God just laughs,” he adds.