Dubai: Juan Briza, a Duba mechanic with no fully formed hands or feet, has developed a “really admirable and fantastic adaptation for being able to work and manipulate as a technician”, according to Milan Handl, orthopaedic surgeon at the Dubai Bone and Joint Centre.
Gulf News took his case to the doctor, who diagnosed his condition as “phocomelia or, more exactly, dysmelia, which is extremely rare”. Handl said that it usually occurs in one in 100,000 people.
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Milan Handl with Juan Briza. |
“It is a congenital disorder described as the malformation of the limb/upper or lower or both, basically on the genetic inheritance or as a result of the abuse of medicament during the pregnancy.”
“Clinically we can see short arm bones, fused fingers and missing fingers, thumbs will often occur. The patient suffers from the defects of all four extremities with various types of bone abnormalities.
“Typically he or she lacks one of the shank bones, all the hands and feet are abnormally small, finally they appear as stumps due to their close attachment to the body.”
Handl explained that surgeries improve some abnormalities, but we have to respect also the condition of the illness. “There is a lack of nerves and other related structures that are necessary for surgical reconstruction. These limits are frequently so severe that any surgical therapy cannot be recommended.
“There is also the idea of using prosthesis utilising modern materials — such as myoelectric limbs that can detect electric signals from the nervous system and muscles. The decision for such a treatment needs a consultation among specialists of many medical branches.”
He said that in the case of Briza, “with the combination of physiotherapy, suggestion for any prosthetic brace or surgical intervention may help him and improve his life condition”.
