It’s so expensive because they attached the word "surgical" to it. It’s sterile, non porous, tested in medical trials, and has been approved by the government for long term use inside the body. (The last two probably sent them back a pretty penny.)
It's cannulated (can-you-LATE-ed), nothing new under the Sun for orthopedic surgery. In my tenure as a Surgical Nurse specializing in neuro and orthopedic procedures, we've been inserting rods and screws over a guide wire or pin for 40+ years. You'd really appreciate the dual-pitch screws we use, the threads are on either end of a screw and when screwed across a fracture line, pull the two pieces of bone tightly together. Used in places where a screw head would interfere with joint motion, like the wrist.
The reason it cost $423 is the same reason my surgeon buddy got a complaint from a patient that the hernia mesh he selected during her surgery was causing issues with her insurance because it’s cost $10,000. He was like “oh, no that’s a mistake”.
I make screws very similar to that at work. So, the cost for titanium is partly the machining, but a large part is also the traceability requirements. There has to be chain of custody paperwork every step of the way from where it was smelted to the finished screw's serial number, along with documentation of inspections done at each step, like ultrasonic and XRF testing, dimensional inspections of the screw, cleaning, passivation, and sterilization after it's packaged.
Holy crap man. This is somehow all at the same time legitimately good comedy, wildly informative (that bit about threading, shear, and clamp was outstanding), and a bit of social commentary. You are very good at this and I wish you success.
I was working on a roll up door on the back of a semi trailer onsite, the ladder kicked out, and about 10 feet later, straight down and I'm left with a lot of titanium now. That was my Valentine's Day present in 2019, not quite what i had in mind that day I'll tell ya that much. Lol
The screws come in two different threads depending if they are going into cancelous or cortical bone. Cortical screws have a deep, coarse thread like a chipboard screw, cancellous screws are more like machine screws, and a tap is often slid over the kwire first to cut threads in the bone, before the screw is inserted.
I've actually witnessed surgeries where screws like this were used. I trained as an x-ray technologist, and they do require such professionals in the OR when they are repairing bone injuries, to take x-rays of the area, giving surgeons the ability to have real-time confirmation that their holes are being drilled in the right place, the guide wires are correctly-placed, and the hardware is properly securing bone fragments. Everyone in the OR wears lead aprons (or is hiding behind a lead shield, as the anesthesiologist often does) when x-ray is required for that surgery (it leads to a LOT of sweating, which is why it's so nice that operating theaters are kept pretty chilly). I've seen ankles (distal tibia/fibula), heels (calcanei), proximal tibia/fibula (tibial plateau), ulnae and radii, and even femurs repaired in this manner, as well as spines (cervical and thoracic mainly) fused with metal hardware. It's super-cool. And that was all during TRAINING. Like, literally - I took a few pre-requisites (3 courses - Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2, and Medical Terminology*), attended classes (mainly online - only our labs, actually manipulating x-ray equipment, learning positioning and projections, were in person) for 8 months (from October to May - this was at the start of Covid, so it would normally be September to April), and the following September, I was allowed into an OPERATING ROOM to actively help surgeons (even med students don't get to see the OR until their 3rd year of training, and 7th year of post-secondary education) save people's limbs. It was a bit bonkers.
there's another expensive screw that takes most people at least 18 years to pay off
Built my deck using these. Didn't cost me anything just a lot of digging at night.
It’s so expensive because they attached the word "surgical" to it. It’s sterile, non porous, tested in medical trials, and has been approved by the government for long term use inside the body. (The last two probably sent them back a pretty penny.)
Like $10 for the material and machining, and $413 for liability
I just checked. The titanium bolts (1,400 of them) used on a Pagani sports car cost $95 apiece, that $133,000 total, not counting the rest of the car.
It's cannulated (can-you-LATE-ed), nothing new under the Sun for orthopedic surgery. In my tenure as a Surgical Nurse specializing in neuro and orthopedic procedures, we've been inserting rods and screws over a guide wire or pin for 40+ years. You'd really appreciate the dual-pitch screws we use, the threads are on either end of a screw and when screwed across a fracture line, pull the two pieces of bone tightly together. Used in places where a screw head would interfere with joint motion, like the wrist.
I want to thank the TH-cam algorithm for recommending this
This screw was made on swiss style lathe with a subspindle and whirler. Takes about 5min cycle time.
Pretty cool how it drills with the guide wire. Hope I never see one of my own.
Getting married was my most expensive screw
The reason it cost $423 is the same reason my surgeon buddy got a complaint from a patient that the hernia mesh he selected during her surgery was causing issues with her insurance because it’s cost $10,000. He was like “oh, no that’s a mistake”.
I make screws very similar to that at work. So, the cost for titanium is partly the machining, but a large part is also the traceability requirements. There has to be chain of custody paperwork every step of the way from where it was smelted to the finished screw's serial number, along with documentation of inspections done at each step, like ultrasonic and XRF testing, dimensional inspections of the screw, cleaning, passivation, and sterilization after it's packaged.
Holy crap man. This is somehow all at the same time legitimately good comedy, wildly informative (that bit about threading, shear, and clamp was outstanding), and a bit of social commentary. You are very good at this and I wish you success.
It’s nice of AvE to let you use his “studio” for filming.
I was working on a roll up door on the back of a semi trailer onsite, the ladder kicked out, and about 10 feet later, straight down and I'm left with a lot of titanium now. That was my Valentine's Day present in 2019, not quite what i had in mind that day I'll tell ya that much. Lol
The screws come in two different threads depending if they are going into cancelous or cortical bone. Cortical screws have a deep, coarse thread like a chipboard screw, cancellous screws are more like machine screws, and a tap is often slid over the kwire first to cut threads in the bone, before the screw is inserted.
I've actually witnessed surgeries where screws like this were used. I trained as an x-ray technologist, and they do require such professionals in the OR when they are repairing bone injuries, to take x-rays of the area, giving surgeons the ability to have real-time confirmation that their holes are being drilled in the right place, the guide wires are correctly-placed, and the hardware is properly securing bone fragments. Everyone in the OR wears lead aprons (or is hiding behind a lead shield, as the anesthesiologist often does) when x-ray is required for that surgery (it leads to a LOT of sweating, which is why it's so nice that operating theaters are kept pretty chilly). I've seen ankles (distal tibia/fibula), heels (calcanei), proximal tibia/fibula (tibial plateau), ulnae and radii, and even femurs repaired in this manner, as well as spines (cervical and thoracic mainly) fused with metal hardware. It's super-cool. And that was all during TRAINING. Like, literally - I took a few pre-requisites (3 courses - Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2, and Medical Terminology*), attended classes (mainly online - only our labs, actually manipulating x-ray equipment, learning positioning and projections, were in person) for 8 months (from October to May - this was at the start of Covid, so it would normally be September to April), and the following September, I was allowed into an OPERATING ROOM to actively help surgeons (even med students don't get to see the OR until their 3rd year of training, and 7th year of post-secondary education) save people's limbs. It was a bit bonkers.
This was an awesome, funny, and entertaining video!
Clearly the poster of this doesn't work for a defense contractor.
Robertson screws are alive and well and living in Canada.