Sunday, May 29, 2011

How to break your spine?

My routine checkup this week of my new fancy titanium spine had an unexpected result on the X Ray..... "its snapped" pronounced the young Registrar who left scratching his head and unable to answer any of my questions on how did it break? how do you fix it? What are the current risks with the break? All he said was to take it real easy with rehab & work and that he will refer this through to the guru's and that they will get back to me shortly on a plan of attack. Although only a mechanical fault this is really annoying on top of everything else, and puts me in a hiatus with recovery and getting on with life. I also suspect in buts me on the path for more surgery, so excited about that, not. 




Titanium Physical properties
A metallic element, titanium is recognized for its high strength-to-weight ratio. It is a strong metal with low density, lustrous, and metallic-white in color. Commercial grades of titanium have ultimate tensile strength of about 63,000 psi (434 MPa), equal to that of common, low-grade steel alloys, but are 45% lighter. Titanium is 60% more dense than aluminium, but more than twice as strong. Certain titanium alloys (Used in Medicalimplants) achieve tensile strengths of over 200,000 psi (1,400 MPa). 

7 comments:

  1. Seriously Gary only you could do this!
    I'm Speechless.

    Stacey

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  2. OH stink.Damm. At least the metal broke not the bone, I guess.(Scraping the barrel for small mercies)

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  3. Yes tis a nuisance, but good that just a mechanical fault. Still waiting around to see how safe it is and rehab on hold.

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  4. Not pleased to hear this Gaz ... iPhone golf only for the next while. Email me for a tee off time

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  5. thats a good point Dave, I am hoping that they don't google gary's activities in the past year,I am sure roof Golf isn't a recommended activity.Just going to wake him up.We are going for swim today;-). Hickmans line out and wound site all good.

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  6. How did the swim go? Hopefully at the physio pool, not the mid winter one!

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  7. Not quite swimming yet, on light duties due to broken spine. I heard from surgeon yesterday that they think it is stable, so low risk of it doing major harm. Apparently this is not unusual and the body has a habit of rearranging man placed titanium structures. At this stage they don't want to operate which I am thrilled about. He thinks the structure has also fractured on other side also. He said its a race for the body to encrust the structure. Visually I think of a coral reef gradually covering a sunken steel vessel. They have covered the titanium structure in a bone craft and at present it is "tenuous in area of the break". Getting more scans and consultations in a couple of months in mean while need to take it easy and pop pain killers. Overall very happy that no surgery required and risk associated with this seems low.

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Thanks for your comments Gaz