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MIRACLE METAL
By Gertrude Doro
HARDLY a day passes without some stirring scientific discovery in the medical world. At this time, it is the rare metal tantalum which is working miracles in the bodies of wounded men and sending them back to the fighting lines well and fit again.
Before the war this metal was used as filament for electric light bulbs. And while the medical profession had done some research in its possible uses, its miraculous aid in surgery and the treatment of wounded men was not fully developed until recently.
Surgeons had looked in vain for a metal which the body chemicals would not effect, which caused no irritation of the tissues nor had any other unfavorable reaction. In tantalum they have the answer to the problem, and are amazed by its other valuable uses as well: Tantalum bolts and screws to join broken bones. Tantalum wire, so fine the normal eye can hardly see it, to tie together nerves shattered by shellfire. Tantalum plates substituting for smashed skulls.
The procedure required to fill in a bullet hole in the skull of a patient reads like a story. The margin of the hole in the bone is exposed by turning down the scalp overlying the defect. A pattern of the defect is then made of X-ray film as it is pliable and easily cut. After the exact size is ascertained, the film is placed upon a thin sheet of tantalum and the tan
talum is cut around the margins.
Next it is shaped to conform to the curvature of the patient's skull, and is then fitted into the defect to replace the bone which has been lost. It is wired with tantalum wire, the scalp is placed back over the tantalum plate and sewed in place. There will be only a slight scar and the patient is soon able to resume a normal life.
Before this metal came into use, strips of rib and hip bone were used to replace parts of a skull shot away, but it has been found that tantalum is in many ways far superior for this purpose. It is a very hard metal and bone will grow to it. Another important factor in its favor is that it shows up clearly in X-ray pictures.
In spite of the fact that production has been stepped up, tantalum is expensive— around $65 a pound. At the present time the Army and Navy have the monopoly on the available supply. It is obtained from mines in the Black Hills of South Dakota and is processed from tantalite ore.
Tantalum is a most significant development in the field of neurosurgery. Where operations on the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves are performed it is indeed a wonder metal. It saves lives and gives hope to wounded men who might otherwise be cripples and misfits throughout the remainder of their lives. A miracle metal, bringing hope for today, promise of a brighter tomorrow!