In the past bone fractures that did not heal (called “non-union of a fracture” in medical terms) could not be treated other than with an electrical device, called bone stimulator. But now a large international team of 66 researchers from the US and South Africa have published a well controlled randomized study in the American Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (84:2123-2134;2002). Dr.S.Govender et al. used a newly developed protein substance (rhBMP-2, from the Wyeth Laboratories) to treat 450 comparable open shin bone fractures.
The patients were either treated conventionally or with the additional help of this bone growth substance and data on wound healing, infection rates and delayed unions were collected. At 6 weeks 83% of the experimental group showed complete wound healing of the soft tissue compared to 65% of the control group. There were also significantly lower hardware failures, wound infections and need for postoperative visits by the doctor.
At the 12 month follow-up point there were 44% less non-unions when the two groups were compared with a lot less invasive secondary surgeries being needed.The authors of the two scientific collaborative teams concluded that this new bone producing protein will raise the standard of treating complex fractures that are difficult to heal.
See this news of the FDA approval
Bone Growth Can Be Stimulated Even In Desperate Cases
Last edited October 14, 2014
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