Silicone soft socket system for the treatment of geriatric transtibial amputees

BACKGROUND: Outfitting geriatric amputees with a suitable prosthesis is a demanding task. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of prostheses outfitted with a silicone suspension interface system on a large group of transtibial amputees regarding walking distance, satisfaction of use and duration of daily use. METHODS: The study included 75 mostly geriatric transtibial amputees fitted with a rigid total contact socket with a silicone interface system called an Icelandic roll-on silicone socket (ICEROSS, Ossur, Reykjavik, Iceland). At follow-up 54 patients remained for assessment. Ambulatory performance was measured by first categorizing the patients into four subgroups regarding their walking capacity: 0–50 m, 50–100 m, 100–500 m and >500 m. The alteration in patient mobility was measured at admission, discharge and follow-up. Satisfaction and duration of daily use as well as use of walking aids were collated with a standard questionnaire. RESULTS: Between admission and discharge, patients showed significant improvement (p = <0.001) in walking distances. The walking distance diminished again between time of discharge and follow-up (p = <0.001). The parameters satisfaction with device and duration of daily use showed no significant differences and the same applied to male and female subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Geriatric transtibial amputees fitted with prostheses attached via a silicone suction socket system showed significant improvements in walking distances and a high rate of satisfaction with the device. There were no statistically significant gender-specific differences among users of the ICEROSS system.