UCT mechanical engineers contribute to groundbreaking surgery
1st Quarter 2012
News & events
The team uses a plate guided distractor (basically a hose clamp made to work as a crawler on a track) to grow new bone in the upper jaw of patients with large surgical defects.
Photo by George Vicatos, Rushdi Hendriks
UCT’s groundbreaking team comprises maxillo-facial surgeon Dr Rushdi Hendricks, mechanical engineer Dr George Vicatos, and master’s student James Boonzaier. This benchmarking surgery was performed on two patients in 2011 and was a resounding success. For years, surgeons worldwide have been applying a technique to regenerate bone in the lower jaw where if a surgeon carefully severs the bone and pulls it apart, new bone and tissue will grow to fill the gap. Until now, this surgery was not possible on the more complicated upper jaw. This situation changed when Vicatos and Boonzaier designed the plate-guided distractor.
Dr Hendricks said: “The value of this surgery lies in more than just the clever mechanics and the first of a kind surgery. It also has the potential to change the entire maxillo-facial surgery world and the lives of untold numbers of patients as it results in a more aesthetic result.”
In recognition of the new technology, Sci-tech magazine Popular Mechanics named Dr Vicatos and the team South Africa’s Inventor of the Year in 2011.
For more information contact Patricia Lucas, UCT, +27 (0)21 650 5428, [email protected], www.uct.ac.za
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