A Game Changer for Surgery? This Medical Glue Repairs Bones Instantly
A team of researchers in China’s Zhejiang Province has introduced a groundbreaking medical adhesive that has the potential to completely change how doctors fix broken bones. This new substance can repair fractures and shattered bone fragments in just a few minutes, offering a much faster and less intrusive option compared to traditional metal plates and screws.
The inspiration for this remarkable invention came from an unlikely source: nature. Dr. Lin Xianfeng, who is leading the project, was inspired by how strongly oysters can stick to surfaces, even underwater. Using that idea, his team created a special glue that holds bones together securely, even in the messy, bloody environment inside the body where most adhesives wouldn’t work.
This new adhesive, unlike metal implants, is designed to break down naturally as the bone heals. This is a huge benefit because it means patients won’t need a second surgery to have the hardware removed.
The team has already used the glue on over 150 patients, and the results from both the lab and clinical trials have been incredibly promising. The adhesive proved to be both safe and strong. In some cases, surgeries that would normally take a long time to complete with implants were finished in less than three minutes using this new material.
The trials showed that the glue can withstand a significant amount of pressure and force, with a bonding strength of over 400 pounds. These results suggest that it could be a real alternative to the usual metal implants, while also lowering the risks of things like infections, rejection, and the need for more operations.
While doctors currently use things like bone cements and fillers to help with fractures, none of them truly act like a strong adhesive. In the past, attempts to create a bone glue using materials like gelatin and epoxy failed because they weren’t compatible with the human body. This new glue, however, seems to have overcome those old problems by being both powerful and safe to use inside a person’s body.
