An Interim Prosthesis Program for Lower Limb Amputees

Abstract

This study compared the outcomes of an interim mechanical prosthesis program for lower limb amputees operated under a public and private model of service. Over a two-year period, 60 transtibial amputees were fitted with an interim prosthesis as part of their early amputee care. Thirty-four patients received early amputee care under a public model of service, whereby a prosthetist was employed to provide the interim mechanical prosthesis service. The remaining 26 patients received early amputee care under a private model of service, where an external company was contracted to provide the interim mechanical prosthesis service. The results suggested comparable clinical outcomes between the two patient groups. However, the public model appeared to be less expensive with the average labour cost per patient being 29.0% lower compared with the private model. The results suggest that a public model of service may provide a more comprehensive and less expensive interim prosthesis program for lower limb amputees.

Pressure casting technique for transtibial prosthetic socket fit in developing countries

“…The 6MWT performances of participants classified as K2 (n = 2) and K3 (n = 6) ambulators were 320.5 ± 57.8 and 338.8 ± 69.0 m, respectively, which are better than distances [13] reported for a North American sample (age 58.0 yr) with unilateral TT and transfemoral amputation classified as K2 (189.9 ± 111.3 m, n = 43) and K3 (298.6 ± 102.4 m, n = 67) ambulators. The TUG performance before and after the usage period was 10.9 and 9.2 s, respectively, which is similar to the TUG performance (7.94 ± 1.59 and 7.37 ± 1.33 s) of a similarly aged cohort of Italian TT amputees (age 44.9 ± 9.5, n = 10) fitted with two different passive vacuum suspension systems [12].…”

“…The 6MWT and TUG have been used to measure function in populations with lower-limb amputation [11][12][13][14]. The instructions for the 6MWT were "walk at normal or comfortable speed."…”

Prosthetics Services for Lower-Limb Amputation: Public versus Private Healthcare in Malaysia

“…In comparison, both private and public health care have similar equipment needed in treating the patients for lower limb amputations. In terms of staff and prosthetists, both health cares usually have the same qualities, qualifications and experience (Gordon et al, 2010). In terms of patients who seek treatment, the research found out that patients with lower income; household earning around RM2000 a month are the ones that mostly seek treatments from public healthcare providers.…”

“…The prosthetist is able to provide certain services such as amputee education sessions, and pre-amputation consultations. Additionally, they are able to spend more time with each patient and build good rapport (Gordon et al, 2010). The services provided to the patients are located in the hospital building which is normally very close to the rehabilitation center (Bhattacharyya et al, 2010).…”

“…This is because they have no knowledge, limited purchasing power and lack of awareness of health issues. If the patients knew about the early signs, they could prevent them from being worse (Gordon, Magee, Frazer, Evans & Mccosker, 2010). Nonetheless, amputation can be treated by a prosthetic that may be made especially for amputees and help them to become more independent.…”