Bone plates made of materials like stainless steel, cobalt-based alloys, bioceramics, titanium alloys, and pure titanium are used to rebuild fractured bones in areas where a cast cannot be used. Orthopedic surgeons choose the most suitable plate and fix it on either side of the fracture using screws. Metal bone plates must be removed once the bone has healed, requiring additional surgery and recovery time. Bone plates should not be confused with bone growth plates that occur naturally in the body.
Bone plates are metal plates used to rebuild bone that has been fractured. In most cases, they are used in places where a cast cannot be used, such as the jaw, nose, eye sockets and skull. The plates hold the broken bone in place, allowing it to heal.
The material used in bone plates is generally considered to be compatible with the human body. That way, the plaques don’t harm the body, causing further injury or trigger the body to have an immune response. The material most often used in bone plates includes stainless steel, cobalt-based alloys, bioceramics, titanium alloys, and pure titanium. Bioceramics are ceramics that are compatible with the human body, such as calcium phosphate ceramics.
Steel plates are not always considered an ideal material for bone plates, as they lose their tension over a period of time. When this happens, the injury is no longer under compression, which slows down the healing process. Titanium plates last a little longer, but they also lose their tension eventually. This is due to the difficulty in designing bone plates to apply the correct pressure on the fracture without causing damage, a problem experts continue to address.
When a bone plate is needed, an orthopedic surgeon will choose the most suitable plate and fix it on either side of the fracture. The plate is held in place by screws. The screws are placed in the holes as far away from the fracture as possible, to avoid adding stress to the already injured bone.
If a metal bone plate is being used to help stabilize a bone, it must be removed once the bone has healed. This requires additional surgery and recovery time. Removing the metal bone plate can also cause further damage to the bone, as the screws and the plate itself are dislodged. Experts are working on creating bone plates from materials that break down naturally or are absorbed by the body, but those materials don’t yet have the same strength as metal plates.
Bone plates should not be confused with bone growth plates that occur naturally in the body. The bone growth plates are located at both ends of growing long bones, between the bone cap and the shaft of the bone. Their purpose is to regulate the length and shape of mature bone.
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