Silicone hand and finger prostheses

Cosmetic prostheses, also known as silicone prostheses, are passive hand or finger prostheses. They are called passive because they have no active movement of their own, unlike myoelectric hands and myoelectric fingers, which move using the signals from your muscles.

They are made from a custom, translucent silicone “glove” shaped to match your healthy hand in great detail: it can include wrinkles, veins, the shape of the joints and nails. The silicone is then painted to match your skin tone, hair, freckles and other features. If you wish, even a tattoo can be reproduced.

1. Meeting and assessment: we discuss what you want to achieve and examine your hand.
2. Impressions: we take impressions of your healthy finger or hand, which serve as the model.
3. Modelling: we work on the cast of the hand with the amputation, adding the missing part exactly as it is on your natural hand.
4. Silicone and colouring: we make the prosthesis and colour it to match your skin tone.
5. Fitting and handover, with instructions on putting it on and looking after it.

If you are looking for prosthetic fingers, there are two main routes:

• Silicone fingers: lightweight, very natural-looking, with no batteries or electronics. Ideal when appearance and simplicity are your priority.
• Myoelectric fingers: for people who have lost from one to five fingers with the palm preserved, there are multi-articulating solutions such as the Össur i-Digits Quantum, with fingers that move using your muscle signals. They offer active grips, but they are heavier and need charging and training.

The right choice depends on your amputation level, your work and what you want to do with your hand. We discuss it with you without rushing, in collaboration with your treating physician. If your amputation is recent, you will also find useful information in our guide after amputation.