No, they don't use Bondo
OK, this one is for the architects (and other geeks). Those who faint at the sight of blood may want to skip...
Here's how it all works. They shaved a 1/2" strip of hair across the top of Keith's head - ear to ear. This is where the incision was made - creating a "flap" for access. (The brain surgery version of the bikini cut.) No, they don't shave the head anymore because they have found that shaving creates little nicks and cuts which invite infection.
Working under the flap, a "door" into the brain is created by cutting a roughly 3" x 3" square into the skull bone. The sides are very slightly angled - 10 years ago they would have been fully angled. Yes, a small amount of bone is lost - but today's instruments are very fine as opposed to the "saws" we used to see in movies when we were kids. Nobody ever gave us an answer to "where did the bone dust go?"...sorry.
When the surgeon is ready to close, he places a series of 3 titanium bridges each about the size of a quarter on 3 of the edges. These provide support and help lock the bone back into place. In patients who are 40 or younger, the bone will eventually fuse/grow back together. For those of us alta kaka's the skull bones no longer grow back and we rely on the bridging and general mending of tissue and skin to hold it all together. (Come to think of it, I wonder if we should tell them about bondo???)
The incision is closed up with staples and intially topped off with a pressure dressing to keep everything in place.
So..the titanium bridge technology is only about 10 years old. In the old days they relied on angled edges to support the bone flap. Yikes. Sometimes it actually sank down into the hole creating a funny indentation on the patient's head. (A familiar problem we have all encounted in model building.)
Our surgeon says the titanium bridges make everyone look like a pro...
Here's how it all works. They shaved a 1/2" strip of hair across the top of Keith's head - ear to ear. This is where the incision was made - creating a "flap" for access. (The brain surgery version of the bikini cut.) No, they don't shave the head anymore because they have found that shaving creates little nicks and cuts which invite infection.
Working under the flap, a "door" into the brain is created by cutting a roughly 3" x 3" square into the skull bone. The sides are very slightly angled - 10 years ago they would have been fully angled. Yes, a small amount of bone is lost - but today's instruments are very fine as opposed to the "saws" we used to see in movies when we were kids. Nobody ever gave us an answer to "where did the bone dust go?"...sorry.
When the surgeon is ready to close, he places a series of 3 titanium bridges each about the size of a quarter on 3 of the edges. These provide support and help lock the bone back into place. In patients who are 40 or younger, the bone will eventually fuse/grow back together. For those of us alta kaka's the skull bones no longer grow back and we rely on the bridging and general mending of tissue and skin to hold it all together. (Come to think of it, I wonder if we should tell them about bondo???)
The incision is closed up with staples and intially topped off with a pressure dressing to keep everything in place.
So..the titanium bridge technology is only about 10 years old. In the old days they relied on angled edges to support the bone flap. Yikes. Sometimes it actually sank down into the hole creating a funny indentation on the patient's head. (A familiar problem we have all encounted in model building.)
Our surgeon says the titanium bridges make everyone look like a pro...
posted by Keith and Kathy | 6:04 PM
1 Comments:
Yay. He's back. You're both back.
I'm so thrilled. I'll bring over my entire collection of sawdust and bondo today.
Post a Comment
<< Home