2023-10-22 04:00:00
Scott has had a knee prosthesis for 18 years. Today he has to replace part of it. But due to a stock shortage on certain raw materials related to prostheses, his operation has been constantly postponed for 1 year. A case which is unfortunately not isolated, and which arises from the coronavirus pandemic. Explanations.
“I am waiting“. For 18 years, Scott has had a prosthetic left knee following bone cancer. Today, part of his prosthesis needs to be replaced, and that’s where the problem arises: “Shortage of raw materials for knee prostheses. I have to take several pain medications.”writes Scott via the orange button Alert us. Because because of wear and tear, it’s painful: “Sometimes it’s swollen because of inflammation, nerves that start to shoot too, it’s painful,” he explains to us.
Because of his pain, Scott had to switch to part-time medical work in his handling job. But, problem: the part he needs is out of stock: “I’ve been told that for a year”he laments.
According to the hospital, the part won’t be available until next year. Scott begins to despair: “I’m waiting for a prosthesis without being comfortable, without working, without living, it’s complicated. I’m afraid of losing my job, I’m afraid of a lot of things. This situation is aberrant.”he denounces.
A shortage of raw materials for prostheses linked to the coronavirus crisis
The hospital confirms that some parts are out of stock. “Several operations have been postponed, but this concerns a very small proportion of patients. Since the pandemic, there may be a waiting time for certain parts,” the hospital explains to us via a press release.
Certain supply defects were noted
The problem affects several hospitals in Belgium. We went to one of these establishments in Namur, which fits nearly 500 prostheses each year. No postponement was observed for a total prosthesis.
However, it is occasionally more complicated to find certain parts for revision implants, as in Scott’s case: “When we have a revision surgery, it is a more complex surgery, much less frequent and which requires a lot of small parts to adjust this prosthesis which is more complex than the primary prosthesis. And there, we were able to notice certain defects supply, which might in these very specific cases delay the surgery”, explains Doctor Charles Parmentier, orthopedic surgeon.
The war in Ukraine can have an impact for firms, but the pandemic period still plays a role today 3 years later. “During the covid, we had to stop all our activities to reorient ourselves towards the emergency, I think that there was also a production stoppage at that time, followed by a post-covid rebound effect, where there we increased the implementation volume to catch up. And that probably created a shortage at that time.” estimates doctor Charles Parmentier.
In all hospitals in the country, the main cause of postponing an operation is not material: it is the lack of nursing staff which is always problematic.
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