Manado Tourism Indonesia │ 'Reprocessed' Spinal Surgery Screws Found to Often Be Contaminated

I performed a 3½-minute plank early this morning while I was up from bed to usher in the dawn and finally finish the work on a new post at my website My Retirement Dream: Manado Tourism Indonesia II.

The plank was the only exercise I was to get here at home, for I had an afternoon foray ahead of me this muggy, somewhat hazy day.

I thought that I had left here at 2:23 p.m. on the better than four-mile round trip hike to increase my stock of the strong (8% alcohol) beer that I currently drink, but it was 4:44 p.m. by the time I was back and into the house.

Under normal circumstances, the trip takes around 1½ hours; but if I did actually leave here at 2:23 p.m., then I was gone for a full two hours and 10 minutes.

Now, granted that I was walking slower than usual due to the heat of the day and my desire to obtain as extended an exposure to the daylight as possible; but maybe it was actually 2:53 p.m. when I left?

Confounding the whole mystery was the indirectness of my route, for I did not go directly to my destination ─ which was the government liquor store at 108th Avenue & King George Boulevard (Google map) in Whalley.

First I walked the near-mile to the outdoor ATM at the Coast Capital Savings building over by the King George SkyTrain Station so that I could deposit the monthly expenses reconciliation cheque that my younger brother had given me yesterday.

And then I meandered over to Surrey Place / Central City so that I could confirm that two scratch lottery tickets I had were indeed the losers that they seemed to be.

Adding those two stops to my route actually extended the total distance of my entire hike by a half mile.

But no matter. I accomplished all I wanted to accomplish, and toting home two dozen cans of beer for two miles from the liquor store was something of a workout.

I had a dozen cans in each of a backpack and a tote bag that I had brought with me, so the burden was shared by both hands; but neither hand ever got a break or rest.   

I read an article this afternoon that talks of something I bet most of us never think about when it comes to certain surgeries.

In this case, it concerned spinal fusions. But the whole principle applies to other surgical tools:

HSIonline.com

Hospitals caught hiding how FILTHY these implants are [Disgusting!]

I suspect that the source article is this one from Medscape.com titled Ban 'Reprocessing' of Spinal Surgery Screws, Experts Say; however, to access it, a person has to be a subscriber to the website.

Patients have no idea that fresh screws are not likely being used:

During a spinal fusion procedure, a surgeon typically opens a tray containing about 150 screws of different sizes and chooses the six or so needed for that particular surgery.

"The remaining screws are washed again — or reprocessed — with the used instruments that are full of blood, tissue, fat, and other particles from the surgery that just finished," said Aakash Agarwal, PhD, adjunct professor of bioengineering, University of Toledo, in Ohio, and director of research and development, Spinal Balance, Inc.

"Every wash after surgery results in small particles of tissue, soap, and fat being stuck in the small features or interfaces of the implant, and there are also gradual chemical changes and erosion of the material itself," he said.

The study revealed three types of contaminants on the screws: corrosion; saccharide of unknown origin, including biofilm, endotoxins, and fatty tissue; and soap residue mixed with fat. In addition, salt residue was found at interfaces.

These contaminants may be responsible for inflammatory reactions or SSIs [surgical site infections]. Research suggests that such infections occur at a rate of about 12.7% following spinal fusion. This contradicts the previous estimates of 4%, said Agarwal. 

I amalgamated several different quotes from the Medscape article to put together the collection above.

This quote is intact:

It's unclear how often a pedicle screw is washed and resterilized before it's taken out of circulation, said Agarwal.

"Some may be in circulation for months — so, for 20 reprocessing cycles — whereas others may be in circulation for more than a year — so, for 200 to 400 reprocessing cycles," he said.

Reprocessed screws don't have an expiration date, and there's "zero inspection" of them, said Agarwal. "No one inspects each screw. It just lays there, cycle after cycle. Even the trays that hold them are dirty."

Some countries, such as Scotland, have banned the reprocessing of implants used in spine surgery, said Agarwal.

Believe me, the full article is almost frightening ─ and it would be for anyone facing this kind of surgery in a country where hospitals do not exclusively use prepackaged implants.

But patients are not informed that the screws being fixed into their bodies are not fresh out of some sealed package.

The first article has it right ─ steer clear of elective surgeries if there are any alternative options!

I am going to stop today's post here. The evening is already underway, and my wife texted me a short time ago to ask when I had planned to have my supper ─ she said that she wants to cook me a steak! 

Well, I have eaten nothing solid today, so I do have quite the appetite.