In times of crisis there is hope in a place where we least expect it. A place where the hits of the former Goldband plasterers can be heard in the background, telephones cannot be answered for a while and the problem at hand is feasible and does something good for fellow human beings. Welcome to the trauma surgery operating room. Music for drilling, put on sterile gloves and start repairing.
It happens to young and old, rich and poor. Children’s elbows are not safe on a trampoline. A loose sidewalk tile is a real silent killer for the wrist of old ladies. The beautiful skeleton with which we move every day falls down and the crisis is a fact: a broken bone. Unlike the great social phenomena, this does not require extensive reports or parliamentary inquiries; an x-ray is sufficient to confirm the diagnosis.
Forgiving
In general, the body is so forgiving that we can forget the first sentence of the Hippocratic oath, “prime non nocere” (“first of all, do not harm the patient further”), can comply beautifully and a roll of plaster and a few weeks of rest works wonders. But sometimes we are allowed to help the bone a little. With a plate or a number of screws we try to repair the bone in such a way that the body can do the rest itself. And here only one principle applies: less is more. How can you make a stable construction with as little damage as possible?
In the whole arsenal of tools and resources that we can use for this, I have a soft spot for a seemingly inconspicuous part of the tool: the angle-stable screw. Unlike the home, garden and kitchen screw, the ingenuity of this screw is in the head. In the event of a fracture, it is important that the two broken parts are put back together and that a temporary fixation is established that keeps the bone parts in place so that they can heal back into the correct shape. This can be done, for example, by means of a plate.
It is wonderful to repair a break in this way and to see the unlucky girl who fell from her kitchen step recover in the weeks that follow
Traditionally, these plates with screws were pressed hard against the bone with several screws forcing the new connection. That is just as bad an idea in trauma surgery as it is with farmers or refugees. In the case of the angle-stable screw, the plate is not pressed against the bone parts, but it tightens itself into the plate, so that the bone parts are less damaged. In addition, the forces that arise when the patient starts moving again are better distributed over the new construction because it absorbs the forces as a whole. There is no better remedy against polarization.
It is wonderful to repair a fracture in this way and to see the unlucky person who fell from her kitchen step recover in the weeks that follow. I can only recommend one thing to Sigrid, Wopke and Mark. Next time, order the driver to drive to the nearest hospital and report to the trauma surgeon on duty with some youthful enthusiasm; then this country will be fine.