Singapore Adopts Advanced Genetic Engineering in Orthoped...( Spinal fusio...),Health

Spinal fusion with Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMP) speeds up the bone healing process, thereby ensuring that patients recover and return to activities within just a few months.

Singapore (PRWEB) April 21, 2009 -- Singapore is one of the first countries in Asia to utilize innovations in genetic science and medicine in the field of orthopedics with highly successful outcomes.

Since mid-2008, the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has been applying biologics to a highly select group of patients who require spinal fusion for spinal instability or severe spinal fractures.

Conventionally, patients with unstable spinal structures - as a result of injury, bone cancer or age-related degeneration - could only look forward to a painful surgical procedure called spinal fusion, which aims to stabilize the spine by fusing together two or more vertebrae using bone grafts and metal implants.

The implants, which include titanium rods, screws or cages, act as supports for the spine while the bones heal. But herein lays the problem: Spinal fusion is a long-drawn process that often requires bone grafting and patients can take up to a year or more to recover fully from the procedure.

"Spinal fusion is a two-pronged process. The first involves putting in the metal implants to hold the spinal column in place; the second involves taking bone grafts from the pelvis, which can be traumatic for the patient,&
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