‘Prosthesis can help patients with damaged body parts’
KGMU provides natural looking, affordable artificial ears, fingers, etc
LUCKNOW: Patients who have missing / damaged body parts due to some illness or accident can now seek help from the maxillofacial prosthetic unit of the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) here.
The unit was started in 2015 and has so far helped over 120 patients. Initially working to help such patients, it gradually started creating artificial body parts, such as, ears, fingers and nose. The parts are crafted with high precision, using natural-looking material.
Dr Saumyendra V Singh, head of the unit, said, “Diseases, such as, cancer can cause loss of a part of one’s face. Accidents can also result in loss of ears, nose or toes. The material we use here to create artificial body parts is medical grade silicone. It makes the parts appear and feel just like human parts. We also take care to match the colour and skin type for every patient.”
The maxillofacial prosthetic unit is part of the department of prosthodontics, headed by professor Pooran Chand.
Throwing more light on the body parts made at the unit, Dr Singh said, “For palate and artificial eye, we use acrylic. We also perform eye orbit replacement and ear and nose replacement, which have satisfied patients. The implants are natural looking, so they help in rehabilitating patients too.”
“The main problem with such patients is that they tend to withdraw socially, which can have an adverse effect on their life quality. Often, plastic surgery does not solve their issues. High cost and other medical reasons could also be deterrents,” he added.
Dr Singh said that KGMU charged ₹ 2,000 from patients for the service. “Also, cancer patients are provided the service free of charge. In the private sector, the expense would be manifold and the quality may be compromised too,” he said.