Scots prosthetists giving patients new lease of life

Duo working in Aberdeen craft appendages we take for granted

Ears, noses and eyeballs are facial features most of us take for granted.

But for two women working at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, their time on the job is taken up making replacement body parts to give patients a new of life.

Karen Boyd and Justyna Kruczynska are the only maxillofacial prosthetists in the north-east of Scotland and handle the majority of cases from Perth to Orkney.

T h e p a i r f a c e increasing challenges – lease choosing which patients to prioritise, an everexpanding waiting list, a lack of funding and a dearth of training places in Scotland.

Moulds of missing body parts are handmade from a variety of materials such as wax, silicone and acrylic and then individually painted by the skilled technicians.

They can then be attached to the body with adhesives or by using titanium bars placed beneath the skin and then attaching the prosthetic by magnet.

Ms Boyd said: “It is a very creative job, we make a lot of moulds we have never made before and a lot of it is trial and error to see what works for what patient.

“Everyone is different so every prosthetic needs to be handmade and suited to each individual patient.”

She added: “Generally trauma patients are prioritised and the waiting list is reviewed regularly.”

Ms Kruczynska said: “The real beauty of our job is that if we have done it right then nobody will ever even know it is a prosthetic.”

Photograph by Jim Irvine EXPERTS: Maxillofacial prosthetist Justyna Kruczynska, left, and lab manager Karen Boyd with a selection of prosthetics.