Programs & Services

At Phoenix Children’s Prosthetics Clinic, you and your child will meet with three specialists at the same visit: an orthopedic surgeon, a certified prosthetist and a physical therapist. Together, we will evaluate your child’s health and well-being and, if necessary, perform radiographs and other imaging studies, clinical photographs and a gait analysis (at another scheduled visit) to watch how your child walks and moves their body. We integrate all this information to develop a comprehensive customized care plan to treat your child to maximize their functional potential.

For children who already have prosthetic devices, we will look at how they use both their natural and artificial limbs. For example, is the child swinging the leg? Does the prosthesis fit properly?

Depending on the condition of their limbs, some children may be good candidates for limb reconstruction surgery, which can help a limb function as it should without a prosthesis.

Our experts will assess your child’s needs and recommend a prosthesis that will help them move well, function as independently as possible, and participate in activities they enjoy. The solution may be an upper limb prosthesis, a lower limb prosthesis, a foot prosthesis, or something else. Some children will need surgery to prepare their limbs for a new prosthesis, while others may not.

Families can expect to have plenty of time to talk through options and ask questions. Together with you and your child, our team will create an individualized care plan that addresses your child’s current hopes and future needs.

Through our Prosthetics Clinic, your child has access to a wide range of prosthetic devices for the upper and lower extremities, including artificial arms, hands and fingers, as well as artificial legs, feet and joints. You may be surprised by how well a specialized prosthetic can improve your child’s daily life. Our orthopedic surgeon and physical therapist collaborate with a certified prosthetist to ensure your child has a prosthesis that enables them to participate in their favorite activities and is tailored to their unique needs.

Passive Prosthetics

Some families choose a passive prosthesis to replace a missing finger, leg or foot. Passive prosthetics do not provide active joint movement but can look like natural limbs. Your child may also use a passive prosthesis to improve balance or to help stabilize an object, such as holding down a piece of paper while writing.

Active Prosthetics

Other families may choose an active prosthesis. Active prosthetics provide joint movement and allow children to move and function independently at home, school and play. 

Some children have activity-specific prosthetics designed to help them perform certain activities, such as:

• Walking
• Running
• Swimming
• Riding a bike
• Fishing
• Rock-climbing
• Playing piano or other musical instruments
• Playing sports (swinging a baseball bat or kicking a soccer ball, for example)

Older children may have different prosthetics that they switch out to perform different activities.

Active prosthetics work in several different ways. For complex prosthetics, we bring in specialists throughout Phoenix Children’s as needed. For example, we may invite a plastic surgeon to your child’s clinic appointment if an active prosthetic will require nerve work during surgery.

• Body-powered prosthetics use your child’s body to operate the device. For example, a harness system may hold the prosthesis onto your child’s body and use the motion of your child’s shoulder and upper arm to operate the hook, hand or elbow joint.
• Myoelectric prosthetics use battery power or electricity generated in the muscles to operate devices that are attached to your child’s body. (“Myoelectric” refers to the electrical signals in the body that stimulate the muscles to move.) Myoelectric prosthetics can help with phantom nerve pain, which is pain your child may feel in an amputated limb.
• Hybrid prosthetics use both body-powered and myoelectric techniques.

When you visit the Prosthetics Clinic at Phoenix Children’s, you will find a child-friendly, family-oriented environment. Our child life specialists work to ease any fears or anxieties your child or teen may have and make the experience as fun and stress-free as possible. They explain what’s happening using words that are easy for families to understand. If needed, our child life specialists also provide play opportunities, so that parents can talk freely with the orthopedic surgeon, prosthetist and physical therapist.

We want you and your child to leave our clinics hopeful, with access to new information, support and services.

We offer:

• Care conferences: We are happy to meet with your child’s primary care doctor and other medical providers.
• Education: We provide easy-to-understand and thorough instructions about your child’s new limb, including how it operates, how to care for it and accessories you may need or want.
• Family-to-family conversations: We will put you in touch with another family whose child has a similar condition so you can learn about their experience with artificial limbs.
• Information about limb reconstruction and limb-lengthening surgery: If recommended, we will discuss surgeries that may be another option for your child.
• Parent support groups: We can refer you to parent organizations that support families and offer education about how to successfully handle any special needs a child may have at home, at school or in the community.
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation services: These therapies improve function and enhance your child’s quality of life as needed.
• Psychological services: Counseling, if needed, can help children and families adapt to life with a prosthetic limb.
• Second opinion services: This includes an evaluation to offer recommendations to help you make informed decisions if your child has seen a provider outside Phoenix Children’s.
• Specialty camps: We will give you the names of programs where children and families can meet others with limb differences and learn to develop a healthy, happy, independent lifestyle.
• Support as your child grows: Our support services include new prosthetics and modifications as needed.
• Virtual visits: These visits allow you and your child to meet with our clinic team virtually instead of in person.