ABSORBABLE METAL IN BONE SURGERY: A FURTHER REPORT ON THE USE OF MAGNESIUM ALLOYS

Magnesium alloys, now obtainable on the commercial market, provide a metallic substance which not only fulfils the required characteristics of rigidity and strength for the internal retention of bone fragments but in addition is totally absorbable. The unique behavior of the metal in respect to its absorbability is of sufficient importance to justify the study of the surgical possibilities of such a substance. Its use bears many distinctive features that cannot be compared to those of the more commonly used plates and bone fixing devices made of nonabsorbable metal. Instead, the alloy metal must be individually con- sidered for the advantages and disadvantages which limit its use to cases in which the mechanical requirements will be amply satisfied and the absorption features will be of value. In the former report 1 the effects of magnesiumaluminum alloy screws and pegs were analyzed in twenty fracture and bone graft cases. New methods