diving prosthesis responses

diving prosthesis responses

Jason Semple

Thanks for all the responses, it has been very useful

Sorry it took so long to get all this together

Below are the responses (slightly edited)
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i am replying to mail for a diving pros. there i s an ankle available called
the active ankle that allows the foot. to be dropped to 180 degrees. thus
allowing the use of a swim fin. and then returned to 90 degrees and locked.
also i belive there is one more such ankle out there but i cannot rercall
the name.as for socket suspension dry sockets are popular with swim pros.
using any good susp. sleeve. pref. rubber. also a wet socket w/ a drain hole
distally will work. there is also a plastic ptb strap from otto bock
avialable. one
more thing i think that a hollow ultralite construction is the only way to
go. any further ? please contact me.

thanks bill daniel
independent prosthetic services


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There are several ankles on the market for swiming/diving limbs eg
Otholite LA ankle for one which allows the user to get the foot in a great
position for using the flipper.
I have heard of some prosthetists flattening the front of the shin area to
make a greater surface area and rounding the posterior so the limb moves
easily on the up stroke (bit like a plane wing)- might make a difference 8-)
I have used numerous different techniques - cuff straps work but the
leather rots and rivets rust, Silicone liners work okay - I usually
advise the use of an older one incase the salt water etc has any effect and
that they rinse the limb after use with fresh water. Bock also do a swiming
knee sleeve which works for some folk.
Just depends on how much suspension you require. Just remember weight
is not a problem in limbs used for diving but buoyancy can be.
Hope this is of helpregardsTerry


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We have had reasonable success with swimming\diving prostheses using
the Rampro Active Ankle along with the Kingsley Steplite foot which allows
the foot to plantar flex fully for use with fins. The suspension most often
used in this application is the Activesleeve from Performance Prosthetics.
Another ankle that works well for this is the OrthoEurope L.A. Ankle.

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Okay, first AK, BK what? Well to begin I'm an AK and when I lost my leg, I
was a SCUBA diving instructor. I tried an active ankle with no knee.
This was totally ineffective. I've found that I can dive very well without
any prosthesis at all, even in a current. Hope this helps.

John

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The company who probably canhelp you are Ortholite and Gomed. Both do a
diving leg which if I am not mistaken, can withstand the corrosive sea
water.do look into them. As to suspension, I really cannot help you but If
you do post out the results of your questions, I am sure many will benefit
from it.ps. sorry for the spelling mistakes (if any)

Joseph Lim P&O Malaysia

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There is no conceivable reason to wear a prosthesis while diving, but would
be a difinite plus on a boat. Would design something with a locking knee,
and resistant to wet and salt if you live on the coast. I have adapted an
SNS by using a well fitting rubber sleeve over the exposed knee and plastic
bag duct-taped over the shank and foot. Worked well. I know of an TF
amputee who used a single WIDE fin in conjunction with a porpoise-type
undulating kick. If you try the standard kick you get a rotational moment
which the diver
must continually compensate.
Mo

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A couple of problems foreseen:1. Pressure problems with hollow sections of
the prosthesis.2. Often restrict mobility underwater
3. Henri Bource, a famous AK (leg taken by a shark off the South-West coast
of Victoria, Australia), up until recently continued to dive without his
prosthesis but wore a fin on his stump for preference. In effect, his fin
was attached to a 'stubbie' prosthesis which gave him effective propulsion
in the water and didn't act as dead weight.
The usefulness of a full prosthesis in the water is very limited because of
the reliance on the active knee action for propulsion.
4. corrosion/sand abrasion of metal parts is a very expensive feature
Just some thoughts from a former scuba instructor/prosthetist.
Richard Ziegeler

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I am a prosthetist and a transfemoral amputee who has only 16 open
water dives. So far I have not needed any special device, - just my
one leg, however, a fin of some sort may very well be benificial to
someone who is quite enthusiastic. It could be attached directly to
the end on the t/f socket.
andy

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Just came back from Hawaii where I SNUBAd and snorkeled. I am a RAK. I
used crutches to get in and out of the water. Swimming was ok although not
as strong as I once was! It was great to be able to do that . Water is
sort of a good equalizer as I can walk in pools without falling!

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I'm a hemipelvectomy amputee (for 37+ yrs), and a certified scuba diver.
I use my prosthetic full time on dry land, but find it way too
uncomfortable and confining while swimming...just not do-able in my
situation. However, scuba diving as an amputee is definitely possible,
although a bit of a hassel. Now that I'm getting older I prefer
snorkeling, but absolutely...go for it.

I do have some suggestions for you:
The only advantage to using a prosthetic IMHO is during a beach entry. It
is very awkward and cumbersome using crutches along with the scuba gear, wet
suit and flipper. I get into about 2 feet of water, then pass my crutches
off to someone to place on the beach. There is a nifty disc shaped crutch
tip which you can put on to keep your crutches from sinking into the sand.
If interested, e-mail me and I'll tell you where to get them. Boat entries
are much easier, just fall over the side.

Once in the water since I have no leg at all to propel me while swimming,
there is no point to wearing a leg. I can maneuver perfectly fine with one
leg and one flipper. I do not roll and can remain level. If you have
problems in maintaining balance, or want to kick with 2 flippers, there was
a good article in In Motion, (May/June 1998), about a swim fin that
attaches directly to a socket. Basically the CP's attached a fin to an old
socket. Call the ACA at 1-888-AMP-KNOW for a copy of this issue, it may
just be the ticket for you. Or I can send you a xeroxed copy. Unless
the knee is locked, I think it would be hard to kick the forces from the
remaining femur to the flipper.

Lastly, disabled sports USA can teach you any sport and probably has many
more tips to offer.
Contact them at: www.dsusa.org/~dsusa/dsusa.html
Good luck to you.

Christina

The other problem I had is with the wet suit. The extra empty leg can be
rolled up, but made me very buoyant and I need extra weights to keep me
down. Again, this extra weights needed was more of a problem before entry
and not a problem once in the water. I would very much suggest getting a
custom made wet suit.

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I just read thru that article again about the swim fin. It was made for
Elayne Greene, by her CP's Ray Kellerman and Wayne Rosen in Tamarac, Fla.
The ACA will provide her phone # and she'll be happy to answer questions.
Elayne is a transfemoral amp, an older gal, but it's a suggestion that
might help your client.

Using an old suction socket, they had to fabricate a new polyester resin
outer shell made specifically to function in water and then simply attached
a normal commercial flipper to it. There was a problem initially in loosing
suction in the water, but they corrected this by adding a belt that fits
snugly over the hip and holds it on. Now with a slight hip motion, the
flipper works and stays on.

Christina

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A couple of years ago a Transfemoral who was a commercial diver came
through the local VA clinic. He wanted his swim fin repaired. This was a
modified fin attached to an Orhtoplast socket that laced on and had a light
weight belt. He wanted it duplicated, which I did. I think that the
Dr. at the VA had some pictures taken. If you are interested, I may be
able to get some copies. Please contact me and I'll talk to the Doc.
Steve Childs, BOCP, C.Ped.

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