Black Magic or valid medical device?

"Andy Asberry" wrote: (clip) $5000 for a modified bonefone. (clip) Any thoughts or experience with this? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ My unmodified Bonephone still works.

Cadaver bone is frequently used to keep the vertebrae apart following this surgery. One small piece is placed on either side of the spinal column in between the vertebrae. The suregon that did mine said that he used the ground up bone from triming the vertebrae as a sort of seed for new bone in beteeen the the cadaver bone and the vertebrae. Six weeks after surgery the x-rays showed fusion. The titanium plate is used to keep the vertebrae in position so that bone fusion can occur.

I don't know how effective the stimulator is, but I've seen other reports that show a benefit from electrical stimulation of bone. I rather doubt insurance would cover it if it was the least bit questionable.

Funny you should say that. Mine does too, and I turned 67 in July.

Harold

Electromagnetic bone growth therapy is well established. Lots of sports figures have used it as part of post-injury treatment.

Hope the surgery is a complete success.

-Carl

I read somewhere on the net a description of growing bone pioneered by Russian Doctor many years ago. He has since moved to the U.S.A. the process involves electrical stimulation of the fracture site promoting growth. In some cases the fracture is pinned with a framework of stainless steel and screw adjusters that are extended regularly. The process is successful but very painful. As the fracture site tries to repair itself the gap is increased by the adjustment screws. I am wondering if the magnetic field pulsing would induce eddy currents in the titanium plate???? Randy

I came home with one of these bone growth stimulators.

$5000 for a modified bonefone. My insurance approved it so they must think it does some good. 4 hours a day for 270 days.

Any thoughts or experience with this?

--Andy Asberry recommends NewsGuy--

Sheeeessss, talk about bone growth - I new this girl when I was in high school........

Andy When did all this happen?

I guess you won't be going to the local metalworkers meeting tomorrow.

Rex

- - Rex Burkheimer WM Automotive Fort Worth TX

Andy Asberry wrote:

Greetings Andy, I had both wrists crushed. After both of the radius bones were rebuilt as best as possible each ulna was too long by about 1/2 inch. So they were shortened. Apparently it is not unusual for this type of surgery to have a very long healing time. To help avoid this I was prescribed an electromagnetic bone growth stimulator. I had to put my arm into it for a certain length of time several times a day. Some professionals consider these to be "voodoo medicine". But the surgeon who put me back together is considered to be one of the 2 or 3 best in the world for hand and arm work, and if he says it's good then I believe him. I met one patient who had a similar surgery but his arm had refused to heal after more than 1 year. He started using one of these devices and his bone finally started to knit. He was very pleased. ERS

Andy

I had a friend shatter a forearm and, as part of the repair, get an electronic growth stimulator. Sounded pretty bogus to me so I slogged through the scientific literature (I've got the background that I can do that). The results were interesting and positive, though they still aren't sure of the details of what is going on. Informed speculation is either

1) a weak alternating current gives the bone growing cells an axis to align with (as opposed to growing in random directions which they usually do) so they grow more quickly along the line of current flow, or

2) the A.C. causes the cells to be more active and grow faster.

Most likely some mix of both. The surgeons align the flow along the direction that needs to heal first and bone grows that direction fastest. Be glad you've got a more recent version of the stimulator. The original Russian version had stainless electrodes driven directly into the bone from the outside and you were attached to a signal generator. Made Frankenstein's Monster seem plausible.

Jim

I won't be going anywhere for the next 3 weeks.

Went in Monday morning and they rolled me out the front door Tuesday afternoon. Had all the tubes removed today.

Last week I was bashful but after getting a catheter by a pretty nurse every 6 hours ...

I'll send you an email with more details.

--Andy Asberry recommends NewsGuy--

I've seen stimulators used when the normal healing process didn't work. Seems like a lousy case for developing statistics since the patient has issues prior to use of devise. I hope you are a success story though.

Wes S

Hope you can still reach the toilet paper roll :) Randy

I can now. There were a few months though where that job was taken care of by my wife. No joke, that's true love. ERS

Yes, indeed it is. It says something very good about the character of a person who will grit their teeth and wipe your ass for you, day after day.

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

When SWMBO broke her arm a couple years ago, I learned all those things about brassiers that I missed fifty years ago - namely how to put them on. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

I never learnt how to take 'em off. At least not easily. My wife takes hers off with one hand. Kinda like magic. ERS

On Tue, 03 Oct 2006 07:46:28 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, Eric R Snow quickly quoth:

Oh, poor Eric! I learned how to remove bras with either hand (the other was always busy, too) and with my teeth by the time I was 17. That last one impressed the ladies something fierce, as does the cherry stem trick (tying a knot in it with the tongue.)

Women do love their animals.