Factory workers who have lost the digits of their hands in mishaps can now hope for a new lease of life, with cosmetic surgery all set to become affordable. The Institute of Spine, Department of Prosthetics and Orthetics at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital campus will make its Cosmetics Restoration Laboratory (CRL) operational shortly.

This will be the first-of-its-kind institute in Gujarat being set up in the government sector where silicon implants of the amputated fingers would be done at an affordable cost.

Dhiren Joshi, Head of Prosthetics and Orthetics Department said silicon implants cost at least Rs 5,000, but at CRL they will cost around Rs 200.

Director of Spine Institute, Dr M M Prabhakar told Newsline: “Silicon implants are expensive, but we will be offering them to the mill workers at a meagre cost. We will be floating tenders for the institutes in India and abroad who can supply us with silicon.”

Joshi explained the process of silicon implants of fingers. “Initially, the impression of amputated finger is taken on alginate. A cast known as die in medical terms is made according to the length of the normal finger and then the die is filled with premixed colour to match the skin of the patient. Silicon is used for making these prosthetics. The implanted finger might even have nails and hair in this implant.”

Every year, at least thousand workers who have lost a finger or a thumb in some industrial accident come to the department.

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