My clinical rotation at the orthopaedic ward in a federal hospital was as insightful as it was eye opening. A hospital is filled with different people who present with different health conditions but in my opinion, one wouldn't know the turmoils patients truly go through unless they visit the accident and emergency triage or the orthopedic unit.
Caring for patients who undergo orthopaedic surgeries requires a different level of patience and tolerance because they are constantly in so much pain.
During my rotation there, I met a young male roughly in his early twenties who had the most contagious character. Despite the pain from his metal implants, he was always very jovial and tried his best not to transfer aggression to those who were just trying to help him. He was involved in a road traffic accident and sustained so many broken bones and injuries.
Every time we went to carry out a procedure on him that involved his fractured bones, I watched how quickly this free-spirit’s joy was replaced with pain. In such moments, all I could think of was “isn’t there an easier way out”.
You would not imagine the joy I felt when I stumbled upon a recent invention in the orthopedic world; The Bone Zero2 (O2). I did some digging and one thing I can say for sure is that the orthopedic world has been greatly revolutionized.
What is The Bone Zero2?
The Bone 02 is a glue that repairs fractured or broken bones in just 3 minutes. Sounds mindblowing right?
This breakthrough adhesive offers a fast, minimally invasive alternative to traditional surgical methods involving metal plates and screws.
The Background
A research team led by Lin Xianfeng, an associate chief orthopedic surgeon, got inspiration from nature, specifically oysters.
Oysters can cling firmly to underwater surfaces, even in extreme conditions. This natural “under water glue” ability that the oysters possess, guided the scientists to develop a bio-adhesive capable of bonding bones effectively and rapidly in a blood-filled environment.
Laboratory tests have shown that the glue can achieve a maximum bonding force exceeding 400 pounds, with a shear strength of around 0.5 MPa, comparable to if not better than traditional metal implants.
One perk is that the glue is naturally absorbed by the body as the bone heals. This simply means that it doesn’t require a second surgery for removal just like metal implants and screws often do.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials on a good number of patients so far have shown no safety concerns. This confirms the glue's efficacy for fixing fractures including complex and comminuted (where bones shatter into many pieces) fractures.
The best part is that it is a minimally invasive procedure that requires only a small incision, leading to a shorter recovery time, reduction of infection and other complications associated with traditional orthopedic surgery.
The Bone 02 is especially promising in situations where quick bone fixation is critical. Imagine how handy this would be on a battlefield or after a road traffic accident? The possibilities are endless.
YouTube
There you have it, the breakthrough in the orthopedic world. The introduction of Bone 02 has certainly revolutionized the medical world and I absolutely love the rate of these series of revolutions, just like the tooth in eye surgery I wrote about some days ago.They make me hopeful for the future.
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