A new material that may speed the healing of fractured bones and even strengthen them could mean the end of cumbersome plaster casts and save the NHS millions. It was revealed by scientists at the American Chemical Society. Physicians have to deal with more than a million fractures every year in Britain but this new treatment could banish forever itchy plaster casts as well as the internal pins, plates and screws, currently used in hospitals.
Plaster casts weaken the joints above and below the fracture causing prolonged stiffness.
And metal pins and plates shield the injured bone, preventing complete healing as well as causing the bone to refracture when they're removed, he explains. Biodegradable materials so far developed have fallen short of the ideal material, which has the strength of metal and serves as a temporary scaffold that dissolves as the bone heals, according to Amy Burkoth, the study's principal researcher. For instance, a bone 'superglue' developed at the RNOH proved not to be well tolerated by the body. Other materials deteriorate into 'gelatinous globs that lack the strength needed to hold fractured bones together,' Burkoth says. It is designed to degrade like a bar of soap and we can tailor the degradation rate so it can exactly match the bone's healing rate.