Spine Surgery Advancements Improve Quality of Life for Cancer Patients
New technology is helping alleviate pain, enable much better follow-up after an operation, and permit enhanced radiation oncology treatment for people with cancer.
Carbon Fiber Technology
Carbon fiber substance, famous for its lightweight strength (used for spacecraft and from the Formula 1 racing sector ), is now available for prostate cancer patients. A surgeon will probably use metal screws during a conventional spinal fusion process to hold the bones in place while they fuse. But, metal screws block the view on a patient’s scan, causing disturbances to X-ray, MRI, and CT scans. Metal screws may also sometimes irritate other tissues, such as the nerves or the spinal cord, necessitating another operation.
Due to new technologies using carbon fiber, neurosurgeons can execute spinal operations using carbon fiber screws rather than metal. Presently, this kind of procedure with carbon fiber is only accepted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in cancer patients; however, it is a significant step forward to a patient’s recovery and empowers more treatment options.
“When an individual has a tumor on their backbone, the spine can get very weak. The screws made from carbon fiber provide bone-like strength and stability compared to alloy screws, so the backbone gets better ” This new technology offers various advantages over standard metallic enhancements, providing patients with the most recent technology to possess the best fighting chance from their cancer.
In addition to providing more excellent stability, the carbon fiber can help physicians better monitor the patient’s condition after operation since they’ll have better imaging. Metal screws are known to leave obstructions in the perspective of scans. In contrast, carbon fiber is practically invisible, allowing physicians and patients to have a clear view of the treated area.