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Posted by Doc Dave on Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 17:48:51 :
In Reply to: Re: Show & Tell #2 posted by Joe Cimoch on Sunday, July 27, 2008 at 17:26:44 :
Joe,
Glad that Maureen is on the mend. My wife broke her wrist a few years ago and had some similar hardware used by the surgeons in her repair.
I think the guys here would be interested to know that the screws used in surgery are not all that different from what we use for metal and wood projects in the shop... but are "stainless" and sterile, of course.
Those two big cancellous screws you show on the X-ray are made to act as lag screws, just like holding things together in a wood project. They have big threads to grab the softer (spongy) cancellous bone in that location, without the drill hole being tapped first.
The other screws, holding the plate on, are called cortical bone screws which have threads similar to NF machine screws. The holes are usually tapped before the screws are then tightened down into the hard bone in the particular location they are used.
We are all fortunate that they have developed titanium now, as it is significantly lighter than stainless steel, and yet super strong.
The old heavier plates could be noticed by the patients and complained about.
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