Socket Fit
There is nothing more important in any prosthesis than the fit of the socket. If the socket is not right then I don't care how many bells and whistles it has, it will not enhance your life. A good socket fit is not magic. It is hard work and persistence. One of the greatest dilemmas that any prosthetist faces is creating a socket that fits over time. The problem is that the residual limb is a living, dynamic part of the human body. It changes its shape over time and yet a prosthetic socket is a dead thing and cannot adapt itself to the changes of the human body. My socket design combines old experience with new materials, basing the fit on the underlying bony anatomy rather than the volume of tissue which is more subject to change. Therefore I do a series of skin fit test sockets where I can look directly at the skin to see where it is too tight or too loose. Only after I am satisfied with the fit of the socket on the skin will I then move to fabricating the liner and interface materials. This produces a socket that still fits years later. I have clients who are still wearing sockets that I made for them twenty years ago. Fit is everything.
