On information received from the Head of the Veterinary Department at Peradeniya, Dr. Asoka Dangolla our team visited the calf who was in a shed at Rambukkana. She was born with three legs and ten months of age. She was finding it very difficult to walk around as the missing leg was a problem for balance. A medical team from the faculty of veterinary science that went along with our P & O staff did the initial assessment with both parties contributing their knowledge. As this was the fist time that a prosthesis was tried on an animal in the history of Sri Lanka the main question was whether the calf will accept the limb. In addition, the limb should be light weight and a separate device. After a great struggle, the casting was taken using Plaster of Paris bandage and brought to the centre for further development. According to the pictures taken of the normal leg, the limb was made using Poly Propylene technology to match the other legs. A leather belt was fixed to strap the limb to the body. Our team was very confident of the finished limb and made a second trip to do the final fixing.
The limb was fitted to perfection and the Calf did not show any resistance after the limb was fixed. She struggled to walk for a while but got used to the new limb in a short period of time. Our team and the Veterinary staff were very happy as this was the fist limb made for any animal in Sri Lanka.
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