Bone tissue is one of the elements of the human body with the greatest capacity for regeneration. Most people who have suffered a bone injury will have witnessed firsthand the physiological process of bone repair; only 8-10% of bone fractures, for various reasons, fail to repair properly.
This makes it possible that after a serious fracture, if the fragments are adequately recomposed and stabilized in the first few weeks, the complex process of bone healing can begin and after a few months the fracture can be observed to be repaired.
When orthopedic surgeons and traumatologists repair fractures or correct deformities, they are simply taking advantage of the regenerative capacity of bone tissue.
Currently, we have many systems exclusively dedicated to perform bone repair in the most effective way possible for each type of fracture. There are all kinds of specific material for the repair of each bone: anatomical and moldable plates that adapt different types of screws according to the type and consistency of the bone, nails of different shapes that attach locking systems to dynamize or stabilize the assemblies, external fixators with the ability to perform progressive corrections guided by computer programs, among many other devices designed with the most advanced technology and lighter and more resistant materials.
The latest advances: the endomedullary nail
A further step forward is the introduction of electronic technology in implants used for bone reconstruction. Today there are endomedullary nails such as those used for the stabilization of long bone fractures, which have an electronic mechanism connected to a mini-antenna that is connected to a receiver placed under the skin, which, upon receiving an impulse from a specific external source, can produce a controlled elongation of the previously sectioned bone.
This type of pins are used to perform bone lengthening in a more anatomical, less aggressive and more comfortable way for the patient, instead of using traditional techniques in which external fixators are used.
The device has been developed by a German firm and in Spain we are the only center where this type of implant is applied. After being the first to use it, we have already successfully completed 8 cases of bone elongation between 2.5 and 8 cm.
With these techniques it is not usually necessary to use any type of bone graft to help the regeneration of the elongated focus. Bone is formed progressively in the same way as bone is formed when a fracture has occurred and is correctly immobilized.
In all patients in whom this technique has been applied, consolidation of the focus has occurred in an average of 1cm/month and no complications have occurred.