A new method for setting fractures will be tested in 2023 and 2024.
Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology recently developed material that’s as strong as dental composites but non-toxic.
Biocompatible polymer-based composite material could replace metal as a fracture-setting method. The method, called AdhFix, was published in Advanced Functional Materials.
KTH professor of fiber and polymer technology Michael Malkoch says AdhFix will allow for customized plating to fix fractures. Recovery will have fewer complications and be more comfortable. The treatment is especially ideal for collarbone and rib fractures. These are usually hard to stabilize. Using metal plates has resulted in 64% of finger fractures having mobility complications.
Rather than using hard-to-customize metal plates, AdhFix mixes screws and a polymer/hydroxyapatite composite. It’s shaped in position before quickly being cured. Examinations of cadaver hands have shown AdhFix resists forces from finger flexing exercises. Rat models have shown the methodology supported bone healing without degradation, adverse effects or soft-tissue adhesions.
“No fracture is the same as the other, this is one of the absolute advantages of the material,” Malkoch said. “A surgeon can tailor the fixation plate according to the patient’s bone shape and the structure of the fracture. The hospital also does not have to store metal plates.”
Metal isn’t always involved in treating fractures. That includes older adults.
“Treatment can range from rest or splinting the bone to joint replacement or surgery to realign and stabilize the bones with pins, a nail, plates and screws,” Dr. Eric Novack, Phoenix-based orthopedic surgeon told Honor Health.
If surgery is required, the right type depends on the nature of the bone break.
“Choosing the right type of surgery — whether it’s to realign the bones so they can heal or a partial or total joint replacement — depends on the location of the fracture and whether blood supply to the area has been affected,” Novack said.
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