FREEZING THERAPIES

THE latest sub-zero medical treatments. This week: Bones

FROZEN bone is used to repair damaged skulls. Decompressive craniectomy is widely used to ease pressure around the brain that can increase after a head injury — bone is removed until damage to the tissue and brain beneath has resolved, and swelling and pressure ease. But this takes time, and the challenge is resealing the skull. Patients are now having pieces of bone frozen which is then reused. According to a study in the journal, World Neurosurgery, freezing the bone is an effective way to preserve it while the brain injury resolves. In a trial with 1,000 patients in China, bone was frozen at nearly -200c and kept for up to 641 days before being replaced in a procedure known as cranioplasty. Researchers concluded it was safe and effective.