Orthopedic Implants
UC Davis’ equine orthopedic surgery program has developed an implant that has been successful in human surgery for a long time. The intermedullary interlocking nail is used to treat horses with long leg bone fractures. The nails are positioned within the medullary cavity and can be secured to the proximal and distal fracture segments using transcortical screws which penetrate both cortices of the bone, as well as pass through holes in the nail. The nail is placed centrally in the axis of the bone to give full support unlike bone plates that only give exterior support. In an attempt to aid horses with bowed tendons, research has been done using carbon fiber implants that consist of about 40,000 fibers in total each of which is 8 micrometres in diameter. These fibers induce tissue growth and result in a structure of carbon and tissue about 8 mm in diameter.
Read more about this topic: Organ Replacement In Animals
Famous quotes containing the word implants:
“There is a terrible blindness in the love that wants only to accommodate. It’s not only to do with omissions and half-truths. It implants a lack of being in the speaker and robs the self of an identity without which it is impossible for one to grow close to another.”
—Alexander Theroux (b. 1940)