Eminent Professor Roberto Balmaseda Presents Results of a Study on a Cuban Hip Prosthesis

February 16, 2023

The partial hip prosthesis project was described as "another triumph of Cuban science" and was presented this Wednesday during the usual meeting with experts and scientists held at the Palace of the Revolution.

Doctor of Sciences Roberto Balmaseda Manet explained how the creation process of this Cuban-made product has unfolded, thanks to the talent and effort of specialists from various entities, led by the Ministry of Public Health and the Union of Military Industry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Other institutions actively participate in this innovative and humanitarian project, whose work group was established in March 2022, including the Fructuoso Rodríguez Orthopedic Hospital in Havana —where 38 surgical interventions have already been performed—, the Alternative Technologies Company, TECAL S.A; the Universities of Matanzas and Camagüey; the non-state sector; and the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED).

This latter center, the Cuban regulatory authority, authorized its exceptional use since November of last year.

The current situation of hip implants in Cuba; the process required to obtain the prosthesis; the results obtained in a short timeframe; and the future projection of this project were some of the topics explained by Doctor of Sciences Roberto Balmaseda Manet, a specialist in Orthopedics and Traumatology.

"We will have sovereignty in the production of hip prostheses to meet national demand," the expert stated. "Six thousand" per year are needed, declared Doctor Balmaseda.

"One hundred fifty monthly can be made, at this moment as we are developing it," the specialist noted.

Certainly, various forms of knowledge came together in this endeavor to improve the quality of life of the Cuban population. This is the opinion of Eliecer Blanco Rodríguez, mechanical engineer: "This has been a project that has marked me deeply and everyone who is working on it. It has been a technological challenge to program all of this, it is very complex, but, with everyone's unity, we have been able to move forward. We are prepared, because the Revolution prepared us to face these challenges and others that may come ahead."

In this project, the talent and creativity of young self-employed worker Osbel Fleitas López, a mid-level electronics technician and creator of the welding machine, a deeply innovative element, were decisive.

"I built that machine from recovered parts, with ingenuity, contributing my grain of sand, relying on my colleagues from the TECAL company, and thus we have reached the result we have today in terms of quality. It has been an immense pleasure for me to participate in the project," reflected the self-employed worker.

The own design of a partial hip prosthesis, which clearly will require other investments to be able to meet all national demand, gives the country sovereignty in this matter, opens the way for the manufacturing of other prostheses in high demand in this specialty and will allow for the substitution of imports.

In this project, which is in Phase III of its clinical trial, 38 surgical interventions have already been performed. Among the notable results achieved are that no technical complications have occurred during the surgical procedure, no adverse reactions have been observed, no infections have occurred in patients; and excellent joint stability of the prosthesis and its components is evident.