Demand for prosthesis in the Kingdom has increased dramatically due to a rise in traffic accidents, diabates and vascular diseases, local daily reported. All these factors contributed to increasing the number of the amputations of the upper and lower limbs, said Badran Hussein a prosthetist. “Atherosclerosis with or without diabetes mellitus account for 80 percent of the amputations.” Hussien who works in one of the private hospitals in Jeddah said there is a significant decrease in the number of the female patients who need artificial limbs because they have changed their life style for the better. He said there is great shortage of the prosthetists in the Kingdom pointing out that the problem is compounded with lack of factories producing the raw materials required. He said the most important characteristics of the prostheses is their weight and durability. He went on to explain the issues relating to cleanliness - “there are some patients who don't care about the cleanliness of their prostheses while there are others who have completely assimilated in their prostheses and don't remove them for long time. These factors affect very much the effectiveness of their artificial limbs.” He said one of the common problems facing the patients who need prostheses is the high cost of the treatment. He would like to see the creation of charitable societies to look after those who can't afford artificial limbs. Prices for prostheses used below the knee start from SR14,000 but can escalate to SR135.000. Muhammad Al-Menhari who lost his lower limb said the shortage of the prostherists in the Kingdom has contributed to the huge increase in prices.
