They just went with the hillbilly shade tree method of “hit it harder”.
Even hillbillies like me know when to employ a chainfall or engine hoist or come-along. 
Or even a winch mounted to an F-350.
1 Like
Same in the UK. My sister is a senior orthopaedic surgeon, and apart from the issue of being female in a traditionally male profession, she’s sometimes struggled with the sheer physicality of the specialism (this video isn’t unusual) and the cliquiness of the ‘rugby’ culture.
During my woods hippie days in the 70’s, we referred to that hammer technique as using an “Arkansas torque wrench”.
1 Like
Sometimes, you just need a bigger hammer. Perhaps he should have a “hammer bag” (like a golf bag) with a selection of hammers to allow him to pick the appropriate one. “Nurse, hand me my 12 oz sledge.”
2 Likes
With 8 years of med school, 5 years of residency, tens of thousands per procedure, and all the other stuff going on behind the scenes I refuse to accept this is the best we can come up with.
I think a 16oz dead blow would be what you wanted there. Said your hammer caddy.
2 Likes
With ya. Definitely not approved neurosurgical technique.
Huh. I guess I should patent slide hammers for surgical use and get rich.
Wow. Looks brutal. But is it just macho interventionist western medicine techniques?
What you have there is a long pin that has probably got something bonding to it. You can’t pull the thing out because that would mean braking all the bonding at once. But you can send a tensile shockwave down the pin, which will shear the first bit of bonding it meets because the material on either side of the bond will have different densities and mechanical properties. Whack it again, and the next bit down shears off, and so on until the whole length of the pin is free. It may look like he’s whacking away at the thing harder and harder because it’s not working, but it is a cumulative process.
The bottom of the linkage seems to have some sort of joint that would transmit the shock without transmitting any lateral force. So, why not use some pneumatic hammer like you find in a garage? My guess is you can sterilise a hammer, and also the surgeon gets more feel when using the hammer that tells him or her whether the joint is giving.
I have no connection with the medical industry. But us engineers everywhere hate it when something out of context makes us look bad. Maybe there is a better way, but carpenters work with natural materials too, and many of their basic tools look the same as Roman ones.
Thanks for posting the video, though. Made me think.
1 Like
Wait until you see how it’s inserted.
Warning. BLOOD!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGPQuZg1P5k
The music is the best.
What language is that in? I don’t recognize that script at all… It actually looks kinda like Elvish script from Tolkien.
2 Likes
NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.
2 Likes
You’re quite right. The original video was of a femur. my video concerned the tibia. I am truly sorry for my error in judgement.
1 Like
I’m not sure what you’re implying. But the best way to repair a certain types of fractures is to insert a titanium “pin” into the marrow canal of the bone. Eventually, once the bone is healed, the pin might have to be removed, and that’s what they’re doing here. I’ve posted a video of the insertion process-- though in that case it’s in the tibia rather than the femur.
explains much.
My dad broke his leg a long time ago and still has the metal rod from this procedure in his office. The gravity of what that meant didn’t really hit me until just now.
I woke up from the Fentanyl while the doc was hammering one of my hip replacement cups into my pelvis. It rocked my whole body, as in moving it forcibly back & forth. Luckily the spinal didn’t wear off before he finished
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
