Our People
Ann is our managing member and has been with the company since 1987.
Having a panache for the medical field, Ann started out as a medical secretary and has worked her way steadily up the corporate ladder. She has also attended numerous congresses both locally and overseas.
She took over the managing of Orthopaedic Suppliers in 2004 and has continued the tradition of building a service oriented company based on quality products at fair market prices.
Carla is a qualified Medical Orthotist and Prosthetist (1998) and also obtained her M.O.P. B-tech degree (Cum Laude) in 2007 with her thesis based on Lymphology and Phlebology.
Carla has also completed courses on the Omega Tracer CAD/CAM system and is a recognised Product Specialist for mediVen compression garments as well as other ranges.
Heading up our marketing department, Carla is enthusiastic and passionate about using appropriate technology in rehabilitation and as such attends overseas congresses on a regular basis to keep abreast of the latest technology.
Eluan joined Orthopaedic Suppliers in 2006 as a Product Specialist and also functions as a sales and customer support officer.
As a qualified Medical Orthotist and Prosthetist (2003) Eluan is well suited to assist with product selection, advice and support.
Having a passion for sports, Eluan is comfortable with providing "best of breed" advice in this realm.
Heading up our transport department, Aghent has been serving our customers' transport and delivery needs since 1996.
He is well positioned and experienced to provide feedback on our customers exacting needs and executes his functions with precision and courtesy.
Proficient in several African languages, he also provides us with translation services when needed.
Mr. Aldo Bachetti, a former European Middle-weight boxing champion came to South Africa from Italy in 1945 just after the Second World War on a Government Immigration Incentive Program and first worked at the Government "Limb Factory" in End Street, Johannesburg.
In 1965, Mr. Bachetti left the Limb Factory and opened Orthopaedic Suppliers one block away on the corner of Bree and Nugget Streets, making it the fourth private "Orthopaedic Workshop" in Johannesburg. To date, Orthopaedic Suppliers is the longest surviving Orthotic and Prosthetic company still trading under it's original name.
In 1967 Mr. Bachetti decided to go back to Italy for family reasons and Messrs Frank Dreyer and Mark Hancock purchased Orthopaedic Suppliers (Pty) Ltd. from him. In 1969, Mr. Ted Greene (the Son of the owner of United States Manufacturing Company - USMC) had just arrived in Johannesburg on an overland trip from Cairo to Cape Town and noticed the Orthopaedic Suppliers sign on the corner of Bree and Nugget Streets and decided to pay them a visit. At the end of the meeting it was arranged that Orthopaedic Suppliers would represent USMC in South Africa and this started the wholesale side of Orthopaedic Suppliers.
In 1972, Mr. Hancock sold his share of Orthopaedic Suppliers to Mr. Dreyer and moved to Durban where he opened his own Orthopaedic Workshop. In 1987 Mr. Dreyer decided to emigrate to Australia with his family and sold his interest to a consortium of six Orthotic and Prosthetic practitioners managed by Mr. Errol Lishman.
Over the years, all the consortium members were bought out leaving Mr. Errol Lishman as managing member and Mr. Giel Bezuidenhout as managing financial officer. In 1989 the existing patient-care facility was sold off and Orthopaedic Suppliers became a pure Orthotic and Prosthetic wholesale company. Since 1988 Mr. Lishman and his team added many other quality agencies to the portfolio of companies represented.
News
Newer technologies are making prosthetics more functional than ever before.
The use of microprocessors and lighter materials has made the devices easier to use and maneuver.
Examples of how far the technology has come could be seen a few months ago in amputee, Heather Mills turn on Dancing with the Stars and, more recently, in efforts by South Africa's Oscar Pistorius to become the first amputee runner in the Olympics.
It's estimated that about 1.9 million or one out of every 200 people has had some kind of amputation, according to the Amputation Coalition.
Prosthetics have long helped people regain the functionality of a lost limb. And today, they're available for just about every body part from legs and arms, to heart valves and breasts.
"Some of the biggest advancements include the use of thermal plastics and composites, which have made the prosthetic lighter and stronger," said Brad Ruhl, vice president of sales and marketing for technical orthopaedics at Otto Bock HealthCare. "There's also been a lot of advancements in terms of design that really help people function at a higher level."
Microprocessor Technology
Microprocessors, powered by electronic and computer technology, are nothing new to the field of prosthetics. What is fairly new, however, is the use of the technology in the lower extremities.
"It's been around for 15 or 20 years," said Joe McTernan, director of reimbursement services for the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association. "What's primarily come into play in recent years is its use in knees and feet."
The C-Leg and Ossur's power knee and Propio foot are some examples of the latest and greatest technology in prosthetics, said McTernan.
"With microprocessor technology, electrodes are placed over the socket of the limb and the patient is trained that when they flex certain muscles, it sends a signal to the motor to do a specific motion," he said. "So the electrode picks that signal up and that, for example, causes the hand to open or close."
The technology has made impressive strides in knee technology, said McTernan. Whereas the traditional prosthetic knee uses a hydraulic cylinder that has to be adjusted for more or less resistance, a knee using microprocessor technology is more fluid and acts more like an anatomical knee, he said.
"One of things that this allows a patient to do that they couldn't do before is walk foot over foot downstairs," McTernan said. "Before, you would have to lock the prosthetic knee and basically drag that leg down the stairs. Even going down a hill, you would have to lock the knee in place and kind of drag the leg. So what it's really done is allowed people to walk more naturally."
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