Pediatric Care
A Specialized Approach is the only way to provide the level of prosthetic and orthotic care that is so essential to enabling infants, toddlers, and children to meet their full potential after losing a limb. It is important for parents of pediatric patients to team up with a prosthetist/orthotist that is willing to maintain a relationship with the child as he/she develops in order to continually meet their needs. Pediatric patients require frequent follow ups and individualized care due to their exceptionally fast growth rates.
In the field of medicine, a patient is considered a pediatric patient when they are between the ages of birth and 18 years.
ASAProsthetics provides pediatric prosthetic care for:
- Lower Extremity Prosthetics – A custom fit limb will provide a child with a leg(s) that will allow them to gain independence, mobility, and perform activities of daily living (ADL’s).
- Upper Extremity Prosthetics – A custom fit limb will provide a child with an arm to perform functions for activities of daily living (ADL’s).
- Activity Specific Prosthesis – A custom adaptation will enable a pediatric patient to participate in sporting activities such as baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and swimming. Other types of custom adaptations will enable a pediatric patient to participate in hobbies such as fishing, hunting, and playing musical instruments.
Infants who are born with a birth deficiency, such as a partial limb, and children who have experienced injury or forced amputation should to be evaluated by a prosthetist as early as possible. Infants should be fit with a prosthesis as soon as practical so they can incorporate their prosthesis into their developing lifestyle. In addition to enabling a child’s physical development, being fit at an early age also helps the child’s social development skills.
As part of A Specialized Approach, we prefer to follow-up with our pediatric prosthetic patients at least once every 6 months to ensure that we are providing them with the optimum care to support their growth and development. Typically, we provide a pediatric patient with a socket replacement or extensive modifications to their prosthesis at least once a year. A child is much more adaptable than an adult, so it is important that his/her parents monitor the child’s prosthesis and schedule an appointment when the child’s growth or progress drives the need for prosthesis modifications.