Dr. Stephanie Ybarra and her patient, Ronald "Don" Marks during a visit to the Fresno VA Hospital. Photo contributed

Earlier this year, the Fresno VA Medical Clinic launched its in-house prosthetic department, consolidating services into one location for patients and expediting turnaround times for prosthetics.

Fresno VA prosthetist and orthotist Stephanie Ybarra said that having the service on-site will improve the lives of patients.

“Having this service in house is going to be a huge game changer and is extremely important to our veterans,” she said. “It’s going to expedite the turnaround time from the day a prescription is written for a prosthesis to the day the veteran actually receives it in their possession.”

In the past, the construction and fitting process passed through several hands. With the Fresno VA’s new service, the turnaround time has been dropped from approximately three months to as little as three weeks for some prosthetics, according to Ybarra.

 

“In theory it’s three appointments: the evaluation and casting, which could happen in one week; the fitting, which could happen the following week…and then the final day they take it home,” Ybarra said.

Ybarra said some patients require slightly more time, but the turnaround will be significantly quicker, according to Ybarra.

“What we call hip disarticulation – people who are amputated through the hip joint – those are also a little more complex and we can expect to see maybe an additional week, give or take, for that fabrication,” she said. “I would estimate over 75% of our amputees here are either below the knee or above the knee.”

Prior to Fresno’s in-house service being added, the closest VA hospital with in-house prosthetic services was located in Palo Alto, approximately three hours from Fresno.

Ybarra expects the new service to attract patients from around the Valley and beyond, with one patient, Donald “Ron” Marks, receiving his prosthetic limb earlier this month.

Marks hopes the new prosthetic will allow him to regain his active lifestyle, which became challenging following his amputation in April 2022.

“Before I lost the leg, I was very active — a hiker and everything — so I’m working back toward that,” Marks said. “I’ve got a recumbent bike that I can ride now and I’ll be walking more distance as I get used to this. I expect to do about anything I want once I get broken in with this.” 

Marks, a Visalia resident, said the trip up Highway 99 to Fresno is well worth the treatment he receives from Ybarra. Marks was Ybarra’s patient prior to the launch of the in-house service, when she still operated out of Visalia.

 

Marks, who served three six-month tours with the Navy in Vietnam, was a victim of Agent Orange exposure that eventually led to the loss of his leg last year. He received his first prosthetic last November, but had since been forced to resize his prosthetic limb — something that patients must often do.

Marks, however, said his experience with Ybarra made the decision to travel to Fresno for care a no-brainer.

“I’d go anywhere to see her,” Marks said. “She’s really nice, easy to talk to and she really knows what she’s doing.”

Marks said he received his newly-fitted prosthetic in about three weeks. As time passes and word of the service spreads, patient loads are expected to increase, but having the service in-house will drastically reduce turnaround times from the previous method.

Additionally, the inclusion of a prosthetics shop at the Fresno VA allows for Ybarra — who constructs her own prosthetics — a comfortable and convenient work environment.

“Technology is always evolving, so we try to keep up with the technology so our veterans can live a normal life as much as possible,” said Glenn Potter, VA Chief of Prosthetics and Sensory Aid Services. “Now we do virtual reality equipment for veterans [with] computers and high-end mobility devices.”

Potter, who has spent 14 years in the prosthetics field, said that technology has improved dramatically in his time, improving the quality of life for veterans with a wide variety of amputations.

The service will also allow patients to combine procedures into single visits at the Fresno VA, further expediting the availability of treatment procedures at the hospital.

“Some of our vets have very complex medical needs and some of them have to deal with transportation as well,” Ybarra said. “The convenience is something that I’ve heard so far that our veterans are really excited to have.”