Prosthetics

One former horror movie make-up artist, Chuck O’Brien, left Hollywood for Alternative Prosthetic Services, a nine person company in Southport, Connecticut that makes prosthetic limbs (including arms, legs, fingers and ears) for accident victims and war-wounded people (including patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center).

Their work takes about three weeks.  They make a mold of a person’s “good” limb and then sculpt a mirror image of the hand, including palm and fingers.  They then make a mold of the sculpted limb and cast a silicone coating, which looks like a translucent silicone glove.

The artists match skin-tone, add freckles, moles, veins and actual hairs.  The recipient of the prosthetic poses during the painting process and can have tattoos or old scars added.

The artists working on the prosthetics do such great work that one airport security worker gasped and almost fainted when checking an artist’s carry-on bag (containing a life-like hand).

Check out the full article at www.wsj.com, Jafee, Greg, “Artists Lend a Hand, or a Realistic Foot, to Iraq Amputees: With Prosthetics Skills Honed in Hollywood, Mr. O’Brien Helps Out U.S. Soldiers,” Wed., May 11, 2005, A1, A4.

Alternative Prosthetic Services.  Southport, Connecticut at (203) 856-9887.

The following link has a great discussion of custom silicone prosthetics: http://www.lists.ufl.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0002&L=oandp-l&F=&S=&P=14473