Future of fixation

[molestrip]

Silk-based fixation is getting a lot of attention. It was used in the last year in rats and is targeted at facial injuries. I found someone who works in one of the labs to ask if it's worth holding out for and here's what he said:

Hey there. At this point it's not worth holding out for. There's still a lot of R&D to be done. The main company who was working on bone/ligament replacement was Serica, but that was bought out by Allergan. There isn't a start up for it at the moment that I know of.
In the past year we've started doing some cranial bone replacement work, among other tissue replacement work, but a majority of the research thus far involves the fabrication of the scaffolds in the form of 3D printing. We haven't progressed to in vivo animals yet so I would say 2020s timeline is about right.
Best of luck with your jaw surgery!

[molestrip]

I inquired about that and every surgeon strongly suggested leaving them in. I think it is quite invasive to take them out. Sadly, at least some of it probably will come out at some point.

[PloskoPlus]

I inquired about that and every surgeon strongly suggested leaving them in. I think it is quite invasive to take them out. Sadly, at least some of it probably will come out at some point.

In Europe it's the norm to take them out.

[molestrip]

@Plosko I asked a European surgeon about that. Apparently it's only common in Germany so residents can practice operating. If it's not a big deal, then yeah I'd want it done too! Who wants that crap in their face for the rest of their lives?

[terry947]

personally id want to remove my the plates probably one year after the surgery. Even though titanium is the best suited for fixation, like any foreign material, its not 100% biocompatible. id that let the bones heal and fuse then take them out. A surgeon also told me its a pain in the ass to take out, but i don't understand why? seems like a simple procedure.....

[molestrip]

They're not hard to take out in the first year. After that, bone grows around them and then you have to drill away the bone to get at them. Titanium implants have been used for over 30 years and there's very good long term data on it. I think about the worst I've seen is that traces were found elsewhere in the body. There's a large number of parts but they're small at least. The biggest reason to get them out is to transfer load back to the underlying bone.

I was told that removing plates is out patient with local anesthetic. I would think that if the incisions are small it wouldn't be a big deal but don't forget that nerves also run through this tissue so while it'd be nice to get rid of the foreign body, you'll be adding scar tissue and increasing likelihood of permanent numbness. I don't know what happens to the gaps either, hopefully they fill in with bone but possibly with soft tissue.