Three-year-old boy in Coimbatore gets prosthetic limb after amputation

Three-year-old boy receives custom prosthetic leg after amputation, gains independence and self-confidence through treatment at CMCH.

A three-year-old boy from Sokkanur village near Kinathukadavu in Coimbatore district received a customised prosthetic leg after he underwent an above-knee amputation for his right leg due to a congenital condition at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

A release from CMCH said that M. Rishwanth was admitted to the Orthopaedics Department, after having been diagnosed with a congenital deformity in both legs, and an above-knee amputation was done on his right leg.

After the procedure, the boy was admitted to the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department, where a customised prosthetic leg was made, fitted and given gait training under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS). The boy is now able to function independently, walk and gain self-confidence through the treatment, said the statement.

Rishwanth is the youngest beneficiary to have benefited so far under this prosthetic scheme of CMCHIS at the hospital. The artificial leg also has a printed socket, specifically designed for children to make it easy for young children to use. The artificial leg given to the boy weighs below 500 gram and its carbon fibre foot and ankle have been made in a modern way for the first time to facilitate children’s walking. The treatment for fitting the artificial leg could have caused ₹3 lakh in private facilities, it said.