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Remember those colorful “grow capsules” that blossom into animal-shaped sponges in water? Using a similar idea, scientists have developed biodegradable polymer grafts that, when surgically placed in damaged vertebrae, should grow to be just the right size and shape to fix the spinal column. The researchers present their work today at the 251st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). “The overall goal of this research is to find ways to treat people with metastatic spinal tumors,” says Lichun Lu, Ph.D. “The spine is the most common site of skeletal metastases in cancer patients, but unlike current treatments, our approach is less invasive and is inexpensive.” Often, removing extensive spinal tumors requires taking out the entire bone segment and adjacent intervertebral discs from the affected area. In this case, something must fill the large void to maintain the integrity of the spine and protect the spinal cord. There are typically two surgical choices in cases of extensive spinal metastases. In the more aggressive and invasive option, the surgeon opens the chest cavity from the front of the patient, which provides enough room to insert metal cages or bone grafts to replace the missing fragment. The other approach is less invasive, requiring just a small cut in the back or posterior, but only offers enough space for the surgeon to insert short expandable titanium rods, which are costly. Read more.
