Surgeons rely on medical devices for their skilled work, which calls for precise and quick performance. When performing bone graft surgery, they need graft delivery systems that can quickly and accurately deliver bone graft to any surgical site. New technology has aided the development of delivery devices that can avoid the problems associated with older versions like funnel systems.
How bone grafting is used
Bone grafting is used in surgery for a number of purposes, to add bone where it is missing. These could include areas where scarring and trauma has taken place, or the sites where surgery has been performed earlier, and bone gaps due to infection or radiation therapy. The four most common cases in which bone graft technology is used are:
- In cases involving multiple fractures that are not healing correctly
- For fusion to heal two bones across a joint that has been damaged
- To regenerate the bone for patients recovering from injury or disease
- To heal bones after implanting medical devices like joint replacements, screws and plates
Grafts consist of bone-forming cells. These can be autografts, which are taken from the patient’s own body, or allografts, derived from a donor. Synthetic bone graft materials are also increasingly used in surgery. Whichever type of graft is used, the right delivery system can make a difference to the success of the procedure.
Choosing the right graft delivery system
When choosing devices for bone graft, there are a wide range of models and styles offered by different manufacturers. The U.S. medical device market is the largest in the world, worth $140 billion annually. It accounts for some 40% of the world’s medical device market, with exports totaling $44 billion each year, according to figures from the Department of Commerce. This means there are a wide range of devices for graft delivery, and the success of each surgery can depend on using the right system.
Universal graft delivery systems
New technology has led to the development of universal graft delivery devices, which have many advantages over the traditional funnel. These have shorter thaw times and no mix requirements, and deliver bone graft to any surgical site with the right amount of force. Their accuracy allows for better outcomes for the surgical process.
Newer graft delivery systems also come in single-use peel packs, which do not need to be sterilized again. They can be used single-handedly, allowing the surgeon to use other instruments at the same time. Universal graft guns can be used to deliver different materials – autograft, allograft or synthetic bone graft – to the surgical site as required.
Bone grafting is an essential surgical procedure with many applications. Newer medical devices like universal graft delivery systems help surgeons to perform this procedure quickly and accurately, leading to better recovery and outcomes.
