Famous Among Top Surgeons in the 90s-Chapter 1949: Materials Science

The human bone is a part of the human body, and bones are composed of bone tissue, with living bone cells being a part of the bone tissue.

Despite orthopedic surgeons wielding heavy tools, like other surgeries, orthopedists aim to repair damaged parts using the patient’s own cells. This method is the most natural, long-lasting, and has the fewest side effects. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Based on this idea, the best bone to fill gaps would be Autograft Bone. Autograft Bone involves taking a portion of bone from other healthy bones of the patient or extracting bone substance from a large bone, usually cancellous bone.

Just thinking about this bone harvesting procedure, patients and their families can feel the enormous pain that the patient needs to endure. In the past, without breakthroughs in material science, doctors and patients had no choice but this painful path. Therefore, Autograft Bone is not considered the best approach.

While using the patient’s own cells is best, what if Autograft Bone is not used? It is important to understand one point. Doctors aim to employ the body’s cellular self-repair mechanism, which doesn’t entirely equate to using Autograft Bone.

Through continuous research and advancements in material science, scientists and medical experts have found that it’s only necessary to identify materials that can integrate with human cells for grafting, similar to how salt and water blend seamlessly. It’s not essential to take other body tissues from the patient to fill gaps. This is the forefront of contemporary medical research, often referred to by doctors as the "biocompatibility" of materials.

In addition to biocompatibility, bones have specific characteristics. Orthopedic surgeons must consider other specialized factors when selecting their specialty materials. For example, this material needs to function like human bone, can match human mechanical conduction, and possess certain mechanical properties. The material should have a microporous structure that allows human cells to grow in. Ideally, it should be absorbable by human tissue like absorbable sutures, such that the absorption rate matches the growth rate of bone cells. Lastly, it should be moldable like plaster, as human bones themselves have a three-dimensional structure.

These requirements demonstrate that medicine is a science combining the most cutting-edge technologies of all sciences. Do such materials exist? Indeed, they do, but the best one hasn’t been found yet. If it were found, humanity would have solved the mysteries of life science and could replace divine creation. Therefore, applications of human bone cannot completely replace all scenarios for Autograft Bone.

Returning to the current surgical patient case. The patient is an adolescent, and the doctor would not casually remove a piece of healthy bone from the child unless absolutely necessary. This spinal surgery, however, requires the removal of an entire bone segment, unlike other bone defect surgeries where artificial bone could be filled into the missing part. Simply put, after removing the entire bone segment, it’s unsuitable to entirely fill the large bone deficit with artificial bone; without soil, the seed cannot be sown for the human cells to grow.

To address this, the doctor mixes artificial bone with the patient’s Autograft Bone to fill the area. This is effectively replacing part of the function of Autograft Bone with artificial bone for a certain period, waiting for Autograft Bone to grow. The mixing ratio can be one-to-one.

If not by taking bones from other parts, what about Autograft Bone? Doctors can use materials on hand. For instance, in spinal surgery, decompressed bone is often utilized to make mixed Autograft Bone, and the severed rib is ground into bone fragments for recycling.