[Untitled]

Pearen, Scott RQHR

8/17/2005

Hi everyone,

This is my first time using this system, so I'm not sure of any proper way
of doing it, so I'll get right to the point.

I have a young guy, 19, who recently lost his right arm in a motorcycle
accident. He was left as a very short trans-humeral amputee. Our facility
tried a very functional prosthesis first, which was eventually denied by the
patient. I did not make it, but the clinician who did has left the facility
and I am doing the next project. The patient has decided to go with
strictly a cosmetic arm. I have a couple of questions for you guys. First,
has anyone ever used a custom silicone liner on a very short
trans-humeral(2-3 inches) and gotten away with a pin system as to not have a
strapping system? If so, did it work well? The second question is that
because this is a car insurance injury, as opposed to a normal government
funded prosthesis, so we have a little more money than normal and I would
like to use a custom made silicone cover. This is a good thing, but because
it is rare that the paying agent is someone other than the government who
won't pay for the custom covers, we haven't done any at my facility. I was
wondering which is the best company to use? I've looked into Living Skin
and Otto Bock. Also, how long do these last in your experience. Any other
advice on this case would be greatly appreciated as well. Thanks a lot for
the help.

Scott Pearen
Prosthetics Intern
Wascana Rehab Centre
Regina, SK, Canada