Informative Essay On Prosthetics

1204 Words3 Pages

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to have one or more of your limbs amputated? A prosthetic "replaces a body part lost as the result of injury, disease, or a birth defect" (Childress). Prosthetics have been used for more than 2,000 years. The most developments happened during World War II. Wars are the places where most casualties such as limb loss occur the most(Prosthetics). The main causes of limb loss of the people that are currently living is 45% from trauma, 53% from vascular disease, and less and 2% from cancer (view graph on next page). Vascular disease includes diabetes and peripheral arterial disease (Limb Loss Statistics). There are many steps taken to prepare a patient for a prosthetic limb. The first step is amputation. …show more content…

Kerian said, “Once I had this hand, my friends ask, hey dude how’s it going [with the prosthetic hand]” (Nordstrom). They are talking to him about it. He loves it because he can pick up stuff and help. Kieran was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome and has no fingers on his right hand. People would bully him a lot (Nordstrom). Getting the prosthetic hand has made people appreciate him for who he is. By people treating with respect, he feels more confident with his hand. A company called e-NABLE, helps provide 3-D printed prosthetics to children and adults who are missing fingers, hands, and wrists (Nordstrom). “These things look like something ironman or a superhero would have and the kids love them for that reason,” said Schull (Nordstrom). The prosthetics make the kids feel like superheros. They feel that besides what their hands are, they have powers. "by boosting independence they boost optimism and both these things dramatically improve people's lives" (Woodford). Prosthetics give a person independence by them not needing anyone to help them they don’t feel helpless.When amputees receive prosthetics, they are happy. They feel like they can do anything if they set their mind to it. Having more cost efficient prosthetics, results in more amputees having a greater amount self-confidence in …show more content…

“There are several criteria of acceptability for limb prostheses. They must be able to approximate the function of the lost limb. They should be light, comfortable to wear, and easy to put on and take off. Substitute limbs should also have a natural appearance” (Prosthetics). With a prosthetic, a non-amputee would probably not be able to distinguish the prosthetic from the real limb, when is is being used by an amputee. It would look and function almost exactly like a real limb. Making it efficient for the amputees. Also, with a lightweight prosthetic, there would be less stress on the stump that the prosthetic is holding onto. Materials that had been used to form the prosthesis included leather, plastic, or wood. Nowadays “materials such as carbon graphite, titanium, and flexible thermoplastics have permitted great advances in leg prosthetics.” This has made the prosthetics more useful and comfortable for the patients. Using electronic technology, there is a broader range of sensory feedback and control of artificial know swing and stance (Prosthetics). Prosthetics “serves one or more of three basic purposes: (1) it duplicates, as well as possible, the functions of the missing part; (2) it provides structural support for remaining tissues; and (3) it improves the person's appearance” (Childress). Prosthetics gives more

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