Bone Grafting Is Used For Medical Devices
Approximately 6.8 million Americans use assistive devices to aid their mobility. The U.S. is the world’s largest medical device market, with a market value of $140 billion and it employs more than 356,000 people at 5,800 companies. The U.S. medical device market accounts for 40% of the global medical device market. The U.S. exports $44 billion in medical devices each year, according to the Department of Commerce. For some of these devices, bone grafting is a crucial component, especially in bone repairs or reconstructions.
What Is Bone Grafting and Why is it Important?
A bone graft is a surgical procedure used to fix problems with bones or joints. A bone graft delivery system is beneficial in fixing bones that are damaged by trauma, or problems in joints. A bone graft may fill a void or provide structural stability. The bone used in a graft delivery can come from your body, a donor, or it can be entirely man-made. It’s also useful for growing bone around an implanted device.
Bone graft delivery is designed for targeted delivery of allograft, autograft, or synthetic bone graft to an orthopedic surgical site. The type of graft used depends on the type of injury. Allografts are used in hip, knee, or long bone reconstruction. Today’s bone graft delivery devices are used in a number of surgeries, including spinal fusions, joint replacements, and repairs of broken bones.
The four most common reasons people receive bone grafts: multiple fractures that don’t heal properly; fusion to help two bones heal across a damaged joint; bone regeneration following disease or injury; and for healing bones following the implantation of medical devices such as joint replacements. A 16-year study of 2 million bone graft patients found that there is a trend from traditional bone graft to bone graft substitutes in the U.S. and that 83% of bone grafts involve autogenous bone grafts harvested from the patient, while 17% involved artificial bone graft substitutes.
The fear of a broken bone is one that can manifest quickly. Although painful, it can be repaired or replaced. If you have questions about which graft will be used or the bone graft delivery process, speak with your doctor or surgeon for professional advice.