Enab Baladi – al-Bab | The National Syrian Project for Prosthetic Limbs (NSPPL) has opened a center in the city of al-Bab, east of Aleppo, which will contribute to securing prosthetics as well as paralysis and deformities orthopedic splints for war causalities.

The official opening took place in the city of al-Bab, on December 13, with the presence of the Turkish health directorates of Kilis and Gaziantep, in addition to the representative of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency “AFAD” and the Syrian Expatriate Medical Association (SEMA), which is the official sponsor of the Project.

Two main goals

The Executive Director of al-Bab Center of the NSPPL, Humam al-Sadiq, told Enab Baladi that the Project has two main goals: the provision of prosthetics as well as paralysis and deformities orthopedic splints of all kinds, mainly to those affected by war in Syria, in addition to the training of technical staff to work in the prosthetics centers.

Long waitlist exceeding the Project’s capacity

Al-Sadiq pointed to the long waitlist of applicants, estimating the number of people registered in the Idlib city Center waitlist of more than 700 applicants. He considered it a “tremendous” number compared to the Center’s production capacity, no more than 30 prosthetics per month, and added that this actually needs two whole years to be achieved.

The case was not limited to Idlib, as it has also reached the city of al-Bab. Within three months before the official opening, 270 names were registered on the waitlist, which will require a full year of work, according to al-Sadiq.

What did the Project provide for the injured?

The Project has so far provided more than 7,700 prosthetics and orthopedic splints to more than 4,800 people, insisted al-Sadiq.

Thirteen technicians were trained at the German Human Study Institute, in partnership with the Turkish University of Ankara, and eight trainees of them continued their studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the Thai Mahidol University.

The Project organized many of the Center’s internal training sessions, for its technical staff and staffs from other organizations.

The Project also graduated sixteen technicians who are able to completely manufacture lower prosthetics with lower orthopedic splints, and most of them are currently working in centers, according to al-Sadiq.

“We currently have 27 technicians, including graduates from the German Institute and Mahidol University and those who are internally trained at the Center, providing about 125 prosthetics and orthopedic splints monthly in our three centers,” explained al-Sadiq.

Treatment steps in al-Bab Center

The Head of the Physical Therapy Department and the examination officer at the al-Bab Center for Prosthetics, Mustafa al-Jarman, talked to Enab Baladi about the mechanism of the patients’ entry to the Center until they leave it after the end of their treatment.

The first steps begin with the admission of the injured people in all their cases to the “reception” section. They fill out a special form, and the injured is sent to the “physical therapy” department, in which all necessary and appropriate examinations are made, including cases of amputations, paralysis, deformities and orthopedic splints.

Al-Jarman examines the pathology first, after which a committee composed of prosthetics specialists is called to determine the appropriate prosthetic or orthopedic splint for the patient.

After carrying out the necessary examinations, the patient returns to the “reception” section to fill out his forms electronically, on the basis of which the patient takes his role and the necessary prosthetic is given to him, to complete the remaining treatment stages in the technical department that installs the prosthetic or orthopedic splint.

What is the National Syrian Project for Prosthetic Limbs?

The NSPPL was developed in 2013, and its first branch was opened in the Turkish city of Reyhanlı, located on the Syrian border.

The Project then opened a second branch in the city of Idlib, north Syria, and moved between the governorate’s several cities, until it opened its third branch in the city of al-Bab in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, three months ago, and the official opening was on December 13.

The main sponsor of the Project is the Syrian Expatriate Medical Association (SEMA), which was launched in mid-2011, and which has official recognition, licensing and registration in a number of European countries (France, UK, Italy, Turkey).