WaterLegs Responses 2
Stephan Manucharian
Description
Collection
Title:
WaterLegs Responses 2
Creator:
Stephan Manucharian
Text:
Continuation of responses
7. A few thoughts about your inquiry -
1. Why not try a lanyard system instead of a shuttle lock system for the
very reasons you suggested, i.e., it is basically rope that locks into a
piece of plastic. You can purchase it from Pi Medical or through Ossur. It
is simple and will not corrode. Furthermore it works well. I have used it
on a number of swim legs here in Greece - all exo.
Regarding your other questions, I have forwarded ideas from previous posts
to the listserv.
Hope all is well.
Best regards,
Jonathan
>-We use primarily two techniques for swim/shower limbs: the Endoflex
>thermoplastic system and a hollow exoskeletal technique popularized by
the
>German's many years ago. We usually bill them as such and seek approval
in
>addition to the daily use limb, often at a reduced or discounted rate
that
>we
>negotiate based on the duplication of an existing positive mold etc. As
far
>as feet go, USMC has a marginal foot called the Beach Comber which we
have
>used; there is a swimming foot/fin by the folks who also make the Active
>Ankle which works well; and we generally utilize any foot we can
waterproof
>effectively. For AK's we have used the nylon knee unit that is produced by
a
>
>small company relatively new to the scene. If you want the name e-mail me
>back and I'll track it down. Good luck getting Medicare to pay for a
second
>prosthesis however, in our region that is not possible regardless of
>functional levels/activities. Hope this helps.
>Jim Rogers, CPO
>
>-Tony Denson has a shower limb which may be OK for both BK and AK amps.
Tony
>
>can be reached at <Email Address Redacted> Endolite has a BK shower limb and I
>believe is working on an AK shower Limb. They are available at
> <Email Address Redacted>
>Bob Brown, Sr. CPO, FAAOP
>
>-I have had a run of patients requesting a swim leg lately. All have
>admitted to actually swimming only 2-3 times a year, so I tell them if
they
>can get their insurance to cover it, I'll do it. I don't think it's
ethical
>to bill for a swim leg unless I have an amputee who actually uses it
>regularly (vs 2-3 times in a year). However, I have two alternatives for
>swim/shower Px.
>When I was in Harmarville tech school (long, long ago) we made a swim leg
>using PVC piping, foam, then laminating. The pipe extended from the foot
to
>a hole in the distal socket and had four extensions running perpendicular
to
>this piece (open holes in the lamination where the pipe was). Water
filled
>it so that it didn't float when swimming. It was very rudimentary, but
was
>an inexpensive alternative and something you could easily do in your lab.
I
>could explain this further if you're interested. Give me a reply e-mail.
>Secondly, for shower only Px: When making a new Px, save the check
socket.
>Have the patient bring in an old Px that they won't use again. Attach the
>check socket (maybe add some vent holes distally) to the old prosthesis.
It
>will eventually rust out, but they should be able to get years out of it
for
>the shower only. You can't bill for this (as far as I know or at least I
>have never tried), but it's simple to do. The patient paid for the check
>socket, after all, and it should take only a few minutes to transfer out
the
>sockets. We do this on occasion. You can add a wedge under the Px heel to
>simulate heel height. You can even pull plastic over the metal parts to
>help protect them somewhat. You're not getting paid for it, so putting
too
>much effort into it seems rather charitable.
>I am interested in reading your responses to see if others have had any
>success in getting insurances to pay for this. We have only ever made one
>true swim leg and it was ordered through a VA clinic. None of my patients
>have ever pursued it.
>Good luck to you and I hope this has helped or at least given you some
>ideas.
>Joan Cestaro, CP
>RPI- Winchester VA
>
>
>-i suppose it would be better to use a silicon sleeve with
>an additional elastic knee support if your patient is going
>to swim seriously. besides you should use an adjustable
>ankle part to fix it in about 120 degree for swimming and
>scuba diving.
>good luck
>
>-Endolite has a new shower leg out that comes with everything except
socket,
>which if you vacuum form or laminate should be waterproof as well. The
foot
>has suction cups style bottom for better grip. Call them and they will
fax
>you the info.
>Steve Hoover, C.P.
THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO PARTICIPATED
Stephan R. Manucharian, CP
Orthopedic Arts
Brooklyn Heights, NY
____________________________________________________________________
Get free email and a permanent address at <URL Redacted>
7. A few thoughts about your inquiry -
1. Why not try a lanyard system instead of a shuttle lock system for the
very reasons you suggested, i.e., it is basically rope that locks into a
piece of plastic. You can purchase it from Pi Medical or through Ossur. It
is simple and will not corrode. Furthermore it works well. I have used it
on a number of swim legs here in Greece - all exo.
Regarding your other questions, I have forwarded ideas from previous posts
to the listserv.
Hope all is well.
Best regards,
Jonathan
>-We use primarily two techniques for swim/shower limbs: the Endoflex
>thermoplastic system and a hollow exoskeletal technique popularized by
the
>German's many years ago. We usually bill them as such and seek approval
in
>addition to the daily use limb, often at a reduced or discounted rate
that
>we
>negotiate based on the duplication of an existing positive mold etc. As
far
>as feet go, USMC has a marginal foot called the Beach Comber which we
have
>used; there is a swimming foot/fin by the folks who also make the Active
>Ankle which works well; and we generally utilize any foot we can
waterproof
>effectively. For AK's we have used the nylon knee unit that is produced by
a
>
>small company relatively new to the scene. If you want the name e-mail me
>back and I'll track it down. Good luck getting Medicare to pay for a
second
>prosthesis however, in our region that is not possible regardless of
>functional levels/activities. Hope this helps.
>Jim Rogers, CPO
>
>-Tony Denson has a shower limb which may be OK for both BK and AK amps.
Tony
>
>can be reached at <Email Address Redacted> Endolite has a BK shower limb and I
>believe is working on an AK shower Limb. They are available at
> <Email Address Redacted>
>Bob Brown, Sr. CPO, FAAOP
>
>-I have had a run of patients requesting a swim leg lately. All have
>admitted to actually swimming only 2-3 times a year, so I tell them if
they
>can get their insurance to cover it, I'll do it. I don't think it's
ethical
>to bill for a swim leg unless I have an amputee who actually uses it
>regularly (vs 2-3 times in a year). However, I have two alternatives for
>swim/shower Px.
>When I was in Harmarville tech school (long, long ago) we made a swim leg
>using PVC piping, foam, then laminating. The pipe extended from the foot
to
>a hole in the distal socket and had four extensions running perpendicular
to
>this piece (open holes in the lamination where the pipe was). Water
filled
>it so that it didn't float when swimming. It was very rudimentary, but
was
>an inexpensive alternative and something you could easily do in your lab.
I
>could explain this further if you're interested. Give me a reply e-mail.
>Secondly, for shower only Px: When making a new Px, save the check
socket.
>Have the patient bring in an old Px that they won't use again. Attach the
>check socket (maybe add some vent holes distally) to the old prosthesis.
It
>will eventually rust out, but they should be able to get years out of it
for
>the shower only. You can't bill for this (as far as I know or at least I
>have never tried), but it's simple to do. The patient paid for the check
>socket, after all, and it should take only a few minutes to transfer out
the
>sockets. We do this on occasion. You can add a wedge under the Px heel to
>simulate heel height. You can even pull plastic over the metal parts to
>help protect them somewhat. You're not getting paid for it, so putting
too
>much effort into it seems rather charitable.
>I am interested in reading your responses to see if others have had any
>success in getting insurances to pay for this. We have only ever made one
>true swim leg and it was ordered through a VA clinic. None of my patients
>have ever pursued it.
>Good luck to you and I hope this has helped or at least given you some
>ideas.
>Joan Cestaro, CP
>RPI- Winchester VA
>
>
>-i suppose it would be better to use a silicon sleeve with
>an additional elastic knee support if your patient is going
>to swim seriously. besides you should use an adjustable
>ankle part to fix it in about 120 degree for swimming and
>scuba diving.
>good luck
>
>-Endolite has a new shower leg out that comes with everything except
socket,
>which if you vacuum form or laminate should be waterproof as well. The
foot
>has suction cups style bottom for better grip. Call them and they will
fax
>you the info.
>Steve Hoover, C.P.
THANKS TO EVERYBODY WHO PARTICIPATED
Stephan R. Manucharian, CP
Orthopedic Arts
Brooklyn Heights, NY
____________________________________________________________________
Get free email and a permanent address at <URL Redacted>
Citation
Stephan Manucharian, “WaterLegs Responses 2,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/214485.