Our patient Shane was on a camping trip in 2018 when an accident occurred that resulted in the amputation of part of his left ring and pinky fingers. After recovering, Shane looked around online for prosthetic options that could work for him. Shane’s main concern was getting back to a hobby of his. “One of my hobbies happens to be blacksmithing, which I hadn't been able to do since losing my fingers. The reason is that I hold the tongs in my left hand and use my right hand to hammer. This means I have to space out my grip with my left hand so that I’m getting as much leverage as possible when squeezing the tongs together. Without my full ring and pinky finger, I can’t do that.”

Besides not being able to participate in his hobby, Shane was finding other tasks difficult, for instance, cooking pasta. Taking a big pot of boiling water off the stove to drain it was difficult to do with two partial fingers. He found he had to change his grip entirely so his thumbs could do most of the heavy lifting. While this worked, it was uncomfortable and, Shane suspected, not ergonomically sound. “I had done a lot of research on my own to determine what would happen to me long term with and without a prosthesis.” He decided that the downsides of not getting one, namely losing out on hobbies and dealing with overuse issues, was worth at least looking at his prosthetic options.

Initially, Shane was convinced that he wanted a body-powered prosthesis for his ring finger. But that isn’t what he ultimately chose. We’ll let him explain:

Shane’s first meeting with the clinical team was a video chat that allowed him to learn about his prosthetic options and understand what his insurance would cover prior to committing to the journey. During this chat, the team decided on a potential prosthetic plan, and later, after insurance approval, his prosthetic team in Maple Grove, MN, began designing an initial prosthesis. Shane was excited to try out his preparatory hybrid prosthesis that combined a passive-positional Point Designs Partial Digit, and a body-powered PIP Driver. His clinical therapy specialist asked Shane to try out a variety of tasks while wearing his prosthesis, like using tools, cooking and picking up boxes. Before Shane was fit with his “definitive” or “take-home” prosthesis, his therapist asked him what he thought of his device. His answer: “I thought using it would be more difficult, to be honest. Right now, I’m tinkering with it, figuring it out. The pinky prosthesis is very intuitive. The ring finger is going to take some work to get used to, but I don’t think it will take very long.”

When our team made a check-in video call to Shane a few months after his prosthetic fitting, he was very comfortable with his device, and happy to tell us all about his experience. Shane was especially pleased with how convenient it was that he could video chat with his clinical team about any issues or questions he had after taking his device home. Our favorite moment during our chat with him happened right off the bat:

Shane and Cat

What Shane liked the most was how our clinical team took the time to talk him through all his options. Because we focus exclusively on upper limb prosthetic care, we provide each patient with a custom-fitted prosthesis that will work best for their unique limb difference. Regardless of what “brand” the prosthetic components are, we understand how to utilize those components the best way possible for optimal functional success. Listening to our patients, finding out their goals and fitting them with a device that is comfortable, functional and looks good to them is what we excel at.

If you, or someone you know, wants to learn more about the holistic prosthetic care we offer, please contact us. To leave a comment, please do so below.

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