Got a Piece of Coral in Your Foot?

I never knew, until today, that surgeons use marine coral as a bone substitute in some bone repair. This was discussed recently at a meeting of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. The idea is that coral, or cattle collagen, can form a frame on which new bone can grow. It can be used to fill gaps in bone after fractures, tumor removal, infections of bone, and so on. Coral is made largely of calcium phosphate, which is a component of bone, so that it will not stimulate a rejection by the immune-system.

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) is another bone substitute; it’s extracted from the bones of cattle, and as it isn’t species-specific, it can also be used without fear of rejection.

Surgery of the foot and ankle has developed into a specialty in its own right, and it’s now possible to get definitive treatment for a host of conditions that at one time puzzled the podiatrists. Take a look at the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons website.