Role Of Prosthesis Research Articles

Parental perspective: The role of prostheses and prosthetics services in adjusting to a child’s upper limb difference

BACKGROUND: The impact of paediatric upper limb difference may extend beyond the child themselves to their parents and other family members. Previous research has found that feelings of shock, numbness and loss are common amongst parents and that peer support can be a buffer against stress. OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to explore the experiences of parents of children with limb difference, and the role of services and prosthetic devices in these experiences. METHODS: Nine parents of children with limb difference participated in either a group (n= 2) or individual (n= 7) interview. RESULTS: Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed four themes – ‘grief and guilt’, ‘prosthesis as a tool for parental adjustment’, ‘support’ and ‘fun and humour’. CONCLUSIONS: Parents may employ coping strategies to help them adjust to their child’s limb difference, including use of a prosthesis, accessing support from statutory services and peers, and use of fun and humour within the family.

The experience of men using an upper limb prosthesis following amputation: Positive coping and minimizing feeling different

Purpose. Psychosocial factors are likely to play a crucial role in adjustment to upper limb amputation and prosthesis use, and yet have received only minimal exploration within the literature. This study therefore, sought to gain a rich understanding of the experience of living with an upper limb amputation and of using a prosthetic arm and hand.Methods. The qualitative method of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used. Purposive sampling culminated in a homogenous sample of 11 males with unilateral upper limb amputations, who wore a prosthesis at least weekly. Semi-structured interviews were carried out, transcribed and analysed according to the methodology.Results. Participants identified a theme of ongoing awareness of difference in appearance and ability. Consequently, participants described themes of psychosocial and functional adjustment to minimize this sense of difference. This was facilitated by the participants' prostheses and their positive coping style. Within this, participants also identified the personal meanings of their prosthesis and highlighted the terms of its use. The minimization of their sense of difference resulted in participants regaining a sense of worth.Conclusions. The findings offer a greater psychological insight into adjustment from an upper limb amputation and the role of prostheses. These findings have implications for both the clinical rehabilitation of patients who undergo upper limb amputations, as well as for future research into the use and value of prostheses in facilitating the adjustment to this experience.

Esophageal perforations, anastomotic leaks, and strictures: The role of prostheses

Misfortunes deriving from esophageal anastomotic leaks, perforations, and strictures are surgical problems of major magnitude, especially when a delay in treatment exceeds 12 hours. To this date, there is not unanimity in the approach to these problems. The costs in hospital expense, morbidity, and mortality are such that methods thought to improve outcome should be given careful consideration. The author presents personal experience with intraluminal stenting under various circumstances with Celestin and Hood prostheses that seems to support their use in esophageal surgery as others have found in colon surgery. Further study of this method is suggested.

The role of prostheses after resection of primary sarcomas of bone.

The advantages of the prosthetic replacement after resection of bone tumours include: 1) relatively simple technique, 2) modularity, 3) immediate function, 4) no disease transmission, 5) arthroplasty is possible. The disadvantages include: 1) late complications-asceptic loosening, bearing failure, fracture, 2) muscle re-attachment, 3) bone stock loss.