— Ayodele Sasona, CEO, Ability Orthotic Centre, Ibadan

Are you an accident victim or a genetically limbless Nigerian desperately in need of prosthetics or orthotics aid? Are you planning to travel abroad to replace a lost limb or any other body parts? Shelve the idea.

The United States-based Delta Orthopedic Laboratory Centre has berthed in Nigeria with advanced bionic technology and affordable prosthetics services for all levels of amputations.

The cutting-edge Ability Prosthetic and Orthotic Centre, Ibadan, is first of its kind in the country established out of the need to give hope, comfort and help change lives of amputees with prosthetics/orthotics, spinal braces, and fracture bracing at all levels.

The Centre founded and managed by Prosthetist and Orthotist, Gbolahan Ayodele Sasona whose computerised prosthetics/orthotics experience and professional medical rehabilitation advocacy was instrumental to passage of the regulatory licensing law for prosthetics practitioners in the US.

With on-site clinical laboratories using advanced technology in Dover and New Jersey, USA, Sasona, disclosed that the fully-fitted and advanced medical rehabilitation centre will provide prosthetic services including sport orthotic, limbs/elbow/finger replacement with bionics.

Data from Nigeria estimate that lower limbs are more often involved in amputations requiring prosthetics. Prosthetics and orthotics is the science of fabricating various Orthopadeic devices or appliances to substitute or replace a missing body part. Orthotics is so wide that it comprises virtaully the entire body segments.

Nigeria currently boasts three National Orthopaedic Hospitals located in the Northern, Western and Eastern part of the country with functional Prosthetic/Orthotic services, yet the country has less than 10 trained professionals.

“One advantage of the Ability Centre patients don’t have to travel to South Africa,United Kingdom, India or United States to be able to get the kind of effective treatment and care they desire. Whatever we do in the Nigerian office is of the same standard with that of the United States. We deal with all levels of amputations starting from the hip disarticulation, above the knee amputation, knee disarticulation, below the knee amputation, and amputation across the ankle, both at the upper and the lower extremities.

“For instance, if someone is involved in a road traffic accident and loses an arm or leg, we have all levels of prosthetic devices that can replace that function adequately. And with the advent of technology, we have some computer-based application known as bionics,” he explained.

Special Assistant to Oyo State Governor on people with disability, Prince Paul Ayodele Adelabu acknowledged the essence of the new Centre.

“This is the first time in Nigeria I would encounter a fully functioning Prosthetics/Orthonotics Laboratory. If you have been to the National Orthopedics Hospital in Lagos, then you would appreciate the cutting edge and advanced prosthetics and orthonotics designs here in Ibadan.

The state has held series of meetings with the founder on collaboration with government institutions to give hope to the disabled and make them feel stable and focus on their heart desires in life.