Cuban province keeps orthopedic equipment production despite US blockade

CAMAGUEY, Cuba, Feb 12 (ACN) The workers of the Provincial Laboratory of Technical Orthopedics of Camaguey (eastern region) reverse with their daily actions the limitations of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, with the aim of offering a better quality of life to the patients.

In the midst of the restrictions determined by the incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the center continues to be open to meet the needs of patients, even with home service for those who cannot come for any reason, while also covering the needs of some cases in the provinces of Ciego de Avila and Las Tunas.

The effects of the cruel policy on the specialty are evident in the acquisition of resources such as feet and knees for prostheses, and laces and leather for orthopedic shoes, among others, taking into account that more than 90 % of all the components used are imported.

Innovation is the word to describe the work of the entity's technicians and specialists, who were outstanding in 2020 in the elaboration of prostheses, delivering 136 of these devices, out of 110 that should have been made during the year.

On the other hand, the Camaguey-based laboratory achieved the largest footwear production in the country, although it did not achieve the total amount agreed for that period, said the executive, who has been working in the unit for more than three decades.

The difficulties were related to the availability of specific elements, such as a type of sole essential for making shoes for patients with a discrepancy in the length of their limbs, or amputees in need of special footwear, for example.

The current year's plan is similar to the previous one, and was elaborated as ever on the basis of the existing population in the province, and according to the number of people registered, there are more than 400 for prostheses and over a thousand for footwear, among other groups.

The options considered for the completion of the equipment depend on the substitution of one resource for another, with slow-moving products in the warehouse and slightly more backward technologies, or through the recovery of disused equipment by patients, or thanks to donations made by other institutions and individuals.