Broken Bones Mended With Injection Of ‘Paste’

A remarkable new “bone paste” that can be injected directly into broken bones, where it hardens in 10 minutes, could dramatically improve treatment for the more than 1.5 million Americans who break bones every year.

For many patients, including the 300,000 Americans who suffer a broken hip each year, the new material, could mean less pain after surgery and far shorter hospital stays, which in turn could translate into millions of dollars saved in health care costs.

The new material, called Norian SRS and described by its inventors in today’s issue of the journal Science, becomes as strong as real bone about 12 hours after injection.

Because it is virtually identical to natural bone in its mineral composition, the substance is subject to the same perpetual process of resorption and repair all bone undergoes. That means it is molded by the body into the correct shape and is replaced within months by new, real bone.

And because the new material is biocompatible, it does not trigger an immune response, as usually happens with foreign substances, that would cause the body to reject it.

The material, now in clinical trials at 12 centers nationwide can be used to hold together splintered bones, to fill gaps in bones caused by osteoporosis and to reinforce the metal plates and screws used for severely broken hips and other bones.

The bone paste has also been tested successfully in a handful of patients with wrist fractures.