Background: The purpose of this article is to describe a technique which helps in fabrication of glove-type hollow thumb prosthesis using three-part mould technique.
Case description and methods: Patient reported to the Department of Private dental clinic, Delhi, India with a chief complaint of missing partial left thumb and wanted to get it replaced. A complete clinical hand examination was carried out, which revealed a residual stump of 1 cm length. After ensuring the medical conditions to be normal, fabrication of hollow thumb prosthesis was planned using three-part mould technique.
Findings and outcomes: The prosthesis delivered to the patient was highly retentive because of its glove-type retention and lighter weight; feedback from the patient regarding retention was excellent. The prosthesis was aesthetically pleasing because of its excellent colour matching with the skin, and each and every part of the prosthesis could be colour customized because of easy retrieval of the third part of the mould, as well.
Conclusion: A technique of hollow thumb prosthesis has been described in this article which helps in reduction in weight, easy packing of silicone material into the mould and easy colour customization at the knuckles area of the dorsal and ventral aspect of the prosthesis.
Clinical relevance: This three-part mould technique helps to fabricate hollow prosthesis which increases retainability and at the same time allows easy packing of silicone material and easy colour customization at the knuckles area of the prosthesis.
Keywords: Silicone thumb prosthesis; amputation; hollow prosthesis; prosthetic thumb.
© The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 2015.