Cuba's health system, which has carried out a wide range of medical programs to improve the people's living standards, has a strong scientific foundation that guarantees the necessary elements to achieve that goal.

The country's large network of medical institutions, including 267 hospitals of different categories, benefits from state-of-the-art technologies, dozens of polyclinics and stomatological centers.

Among the most demanded services are orthopedic treatments, whose quality is guaranteed by a Cuban school located in one of the largest hospital complexes in the world where orthopedic surgery is performed.

Surgical procedures also cover other specialties, including traumatology, reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation.

Reconstructive surgery is used to treat defects on feet and hands, bone grafts, total or partial grafts in the joints, prosthetic joints, microsurgery, arthroscopy, and bone enlargement due to congenital or acquired causes.

This services are offered at centers specialized in promoting, reestablishing and maintaining physical health through medical control, rehabilitation and sports.

In addition to treatments, Cuba fosters the creation of new technologies as the RALCA external fixators, which are used to treat several orthopedic problems to favor bone enlargement, correct deformities and fight tumors, among other ailments.

The RALCA fixators have been patented in more than 30 countries, and are exported to 25 other nations from all continents.

Cuba's health programs are also supported by renowned medical institutions where scientists carry out research on new medications obtained through the most modern methods in the world.

In that regard, the Caribbean Island has made major achievements in biotechnology, since it has a score of institutions and about 12,000 scientists who seek new alternatives to improve the people's quality of life.

Cuba is the only country in the so-called Third World that exports genetically-engineered products, due to the support granted by local authorities to that sphere of science.

Advanced technology, highly-trained professionals and unique treatments are combined to provide an appropriate response in each case, always seeking an alternative to meet the patients' expectations.

Cuban professionals are also working on vaccines to counter ailments that are among the main causes of death in the country, including several kinds of cancer.

With that strategy, the Caribbean Island offers to other nations and visitors the latest breakthroughs in medicine, thanks to an infrastructure that can meet any challenge.