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Had Cobalt Crome rods with Titanium Screws - is this common?

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  • Had Cobalt Crome rods with Titanium Screws - is this common?

    Hi all-

    I just received my operative record in the mail from Dr. Boachie's office today. He told me before the operation, and I am reading it again in the report, that I have cobalt chrome rods in my back with titanium screws. Most of the people on this forum have either titanium rods or stainless steel rods.

    I know Dr. Boachie is considered to be one of the best surgeons in the U.S. I'm just wondering why he uses cobalt chrome rods while the other surgeons don't. Does anyone know what the difference between cobalt chrome is with the other types (stainless steel and titanium)? I forgot to ask him this at my recent visit since I was too concerned with my neck. I haven't seen PAM from Texas on the forum in awhile but I remember she had vitallium (sp?) rods. I was wondering if cobalt chrome is stronger like her type of rods. If anyone knows, I would love to know the difference.

    Singer and other Dr. Boachie's patients, do you also have cobalt chrome rods?

    Thanks! Just wondering as I was reading the report.

    JenM
    Surgery date: June 8, 2010 with Dr. Boachie
    Thoracic curve: 55 degrees, corrected to 25 degrees
    Lumbar curve: 58 degrees, corrected to 27 degrees
    Posterior-only surgery, Levels T3-L3
    31 year old mother of 2 young kids

  • #2
    Hi Jen,

    My surgeon is planning to use one titanium rod and one chrome cobalt rod in my back. He said the reason is the chrome cobalt is very stiff and provides great support to the fusion while healing.

    Take care, I hope your neck improves soon.
    Gayle, age 50
    Oct 2010 fusion T8-sacrum w/ pelvic fixation
    Feb 2012 lumbar revision for broken rods @ L2-3-4
    Sept 2015 major lumbar A/P revision for broken rods @ L5-S1


    mom of Leah, 15 y/o, Diagnosed '08 with 26* T JIS (age 6)
    2010 VBS Dr Luhmann Shriners St Louis
    2017 curves stable/skeletely mature

    also mom of Torrey, 12 y/o son, 16* T, stable

    Comment


    • #3
      FYI....Just did some research online. Found an article by Dr. Lonner from NYC and he had to say this:

      Titanium screws offer the advantage of better
      postoperative imaging with MRI or CT
      scan as compared to stainless steel screws
      and rods, which cause visual artifact and
      difficulty in reading postoperative images.
      These screws have been combined recently
      with the use of cobalt chrome rods, which
      are very strong and may allow for superior
      correction in the coronal and sagittal planes,
      doing a better job of restoring kyphosis. In
      a recent study, kyphosis has been shown to
      correlate with lumbar lordosis below, which
      is likely to be important in the long-term
      health of the lower back in a scoliosis
      patient. Cobalt Chrome rods are more image
      compatible than stainless steel and hold out
      the prospect of being more resistant than
      stainless steel against infection.
      Surgery date: June 8, 2010 with Dr. Boachie
      Thoracic curve: 55 degrees, corrected to 25 degrees
      Lumbar curve: 58 degrees, corrected to 27 degrees
      Posterior-only surgery, Levels T3-L3
      31 year old mother of 2 young kids

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi Jen...

        There's a new line by Medtronic that uses cobalt chrome, and I suspect that's what Dr. Boachie used.

        --Linda
        Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
        Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

        Comment


        • #5
          I have titanium rods with steel screws.
          Chris
          A/P fusion on June 19, 2007 at age 52; T10-L5
          Pre-op thoracolumbar curve: 70 degrees
          Post-op curve: 12 degrees
          Dr. Boachie-adjei, HSS, New York

          Comment


          • #6
            Jen-

            That is what Dr. Vora is planning to use for my surgery. He said that titanium is more rigid and harder to work with and stainless steel is the easiest to work with. Because my bending x-rays showed that my spine is very flexible he chose to go with the cobalt w/ titanium screws.
            Tiffany K
            I'm not short, I'm fun size!

            29 years old
            4'11", never braced
            Pre-surgery, 52° T6 to T12, 35° T12 to L4
            T1-L2, Posterior 8/5/2010, gained 1"

            http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...9&l=03212f3e17

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks for responding Tiffany! I was beginning to think I was the only person on this forum who had cobalt chrome rods. Maybe they do it in younger patients who have more flexible spines.

              Good luck! I know your date is coming soon! I'll be thinking about you!

              JenM
              Surgery date: June 8, 2010 with Dr. Boachie
              Thoracic curve: 55 degrees, corrected to 25 degrees
              Lumbar curve: 58 degrees, corrected to 27 degrees
              Posterior-only surgery, Levels T3-L3
              31 year old mother of 2 young kids

              Comment


              • #8
                Carpenter technologies

                Jen

                Here is a little info from Carpenter... They ARE the best steel makers in the world and have been for many years. I never thought about checking their site in respect to this, but their people are all over it and thinking about us scolis! We owe them a thank you.

                http://www.cartech.com/techarticles.aspx?id=3360

                Cobalt is used for making tool steels.
                Chrome is used for anti-corrosive properties. Both are very tough materials.

                You can look at yield and tensile strengths of various materials, but the rods need to have flexibility for fusion to occur. I always wondered about why they just don’t increase the diameter of the rods, and this is why. The materials have to have a certain modulus of elasticity, and be able to withstand the motion. Like a paper clip, bent back and forth, it will eventually break. Fusion needs to occur before this happens, they say spinal rods can withstand 1 million cycles, and that’s quite a bit. Its up to the surgeon to select hardware, and I'm sure Dr Boachie has used many hardware systems through the years.

                Titanium has the best anti corrosive qualities. It is used in underwater rov applications, since the salt in the ocean is rough on metals. It also is favored for pedicle screws, the bone adheres to this material best.


                After you are fused, you shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.
                There are also old threads here on this subject.
                Ed
                49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                My x-rays
                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                Comment


                • #9
                  I didn't realize Carpenter made rods. They are only 5 minutes from me.
                  Tiffany K
                  I'm not short, I'm fun size!

                  29 years old
                  4'11", never braced
                  Pre-surgery, 52° T6 to T12, 35° T12 to L4
                  T1-L2, Posterior 8/5/2010, gained 1"

                  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...9&l=03212f3e17

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I tried responding yesterday and my computer freaked out but Dr. Errico said he is going to use cobalt chrome on me too. I asked him how much of a correction he anticipated on my rib hump and he said with the use of these "new" type of rods he expects a better correction than was possible years ago.

                    It will be interesting to see the long term effects and fusion rates with cobalt chrome versus previous metals.

                    -Jamie

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Tiffany

                      Since you are only 5 minutes away, you should go over and ask for a tour! Tell them that you are interested in seeing how the steel is made that will be used in your back, I'm sure someone would love to take you on a tour. They are very proud at what they do, and the technology and the people are the best in the world. You tell them I said that, they will agree.

                      I have been buying steels from them for many many years...
                      Ed
                      49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                      Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                      ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                      Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                      Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                      http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                      My x-rays
                      http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                      http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        i'm confused. Is cobalt better or titanium better?
                        62/75 (T4-T9 68 degree & T11 - L4 80 degree) 10/19/2010
                        45/50 year 2000
                        36 yrs old
                        Considering, researching surgery for the first time
                        S. California
                        http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/...ashionista889/

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          material selection

                          Hmmm.... Is a Mercedes or a BMW better? Both are very expensive, and the test results are dependent on who does the testing... Hard to decide. Personally, I would go with a Cadillac.

                          With material selection, it starts with the people at places like Carpenter, who have parameters dictated by demand. The engineers at places like Medtronics and Synthes, will decide that they need to fill a particular goal, and work on it. Since the demands for spinal hardware have been increasing through the years, with many of us getting older, they have been working hard for years in this area.

                          Surgeons pick hardware systems, offered by these companies and is something that a patient really has no choice in deciding. I wouldn’t worry about this since improvement is our goal, dictated by ISO standards. All of the raw materials today used for the medical industry are of the highest standards.
                          Ed
                          49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                          Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                          ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                          Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                          Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                          http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                          My x-rays
                          http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                          http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Cobalt rods

                            I just had a revision and had a partial hardware replacement using cobalt rods. My surgeon gave the reasoning that the cobalt was stronger and will hold up better during the fusion process. So I now have titanium from T4 to T10, and cobalt from T11 to sacrum.
                            May 2008 Fusion T4 - S1, Pre-op Curves T45, L70 (age 48). Unsuccessful surgery.

                            March 18, 2010 (age 50). Revision with L3 Osteotomy, Replacement of hardware T11 - S1 , addition of bilateral pelvic fixation. Correction of sagittal imbalance and kyphosis.

                            January 24, 2012 (age 52) Revision to repair pseudoarthrosis and 2 broken rods at L3/L4.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I just spoke with my sons surgeon who said they use the stainless steel . My son needs frequent MRI's and was told that shouldnt be a problem.
                              Kelly
                              mom of Cameren 12 yrs. old
                              Chiari,retroflex odontoid,syringomyelia,scoliosis
                              Chiari decompressions 6/2005,5/2006
                              Syringopleural shunt 6/2009
                              Boston Braced off & on 6.5yrs
                              scoliosis surgery- 9/15/10 T4-L4 Dr. Bridwell
                              Fell & broke finger,surgery 3/2011

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