Cuban external
fixators patented
in 24 countries
RALCA external fixators, designed by professor
Rodrigo Álvarez Cambras at the beginning of the 1970´s,
are patented in 24 countries and used in some 50
with remarkable results.
Álvarez, President of the Cuban Orthopedic and
Traumatology Society, explained that the apparatus
has benefited more than 250,000 Cubans and is used to
treat diverse bone afflictions, among them nonunion,
polytrauma and bone infections. The fixators have
also shown their effectiveness in treating those
affected by natural disasters, such as in Pakistan,
where Cuban doctors saved thousands of lives and
avoided the need to amputate limbs, stated Álvarez,
founding director of the Frank País International
Orthopedic Scientific Complex.
In addition, the devices have been successfully
used on victims of war, including in Iraq and Iran,
those involved in traffic accidents, or who have
suffered some kind of physical trauma, emphasized
Álvarez.
The President of the Cuban Orthopedic and
Traumatology Society explained that the devices are
currently used in Latin America, the United States,
Canada, France, Spain, and several Arab and African
countries.
Cuba has more than 3000 orthopedic doctors, with
400 currently in training and 65 services of this
kind available in all pediatric and general
provincial hospitals, he commented.
Despite the economic, commercial and financial
blockade imposed by the U.S. on Cuba for more than
half a century and the current global financial
crisis, Cuban orthopedics guarantee services to the
whole population and offer the world an example of
the kind of healthcare possible, stated Álvarez
Cambras.
