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Picture taken from www.stevespanglerscience.com

 I am growing bone as well as bone lining. Not only that; I'm also concentrating on your smile; on the aesthetics; the way the teeth are going to sit in your mouth 

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Maxillo-facial surgeon Rushdi Hendricks, who designed the device with two mechanical engineers, said that this way of treating jaw problems was superior.

"I am growing bone as well as bone lining. Not only that; I'm also concentrating on your smile; on the aesthetics; the way the teeth are going to sit in your mouth."

Hendricks, UCT engineer George Vicatos and Masters student James Boonzaier, designed a plate-guided distractor to grow new bone in the upper jaw.

The device could be explained as a hose clamp made to work as a crawler on a track. As the bone grows, the hose clamp is moved to allow the bone to extend.

The principle behind the invention was that new bone and tissue developed to fill the gap when a carefully severed bone was pulled apart.

A similar method for regrowing the lower jaw -- distraction osteogenesis -- was already in use.

However, it was believed that the UCT team and Hendricks were the first to use it on the more complex upper jaw.

Last year, the procedure was successfully performed on two people.

In September, a cancer survivor, who lost half her palate due to cancer, underwent the ground breaking procedure. Her palate took about a month to regrow.

In October, another patient had the device fitted and an 80mm gap in the palate and three-quarters of the upper jaw were filled.

"The value of this surgery lies in more than just the clever mechanics and the first-of-a-kind surgery," Hendricks said.

"It also has the potential to change the entire maxillo-facial surgery world, and the lives of untold patients."

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Thu May 23 13:01:19 SAST 2013 ::

Jan 27, 2012

RobinH

Interesting.
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Jan 27, 2012

somaartakeit

so they can also do other ground breaking stuff, damn I can't wait to read dana's tweet!

Well done UCT you continue to make SA proud!!!!
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Jan 27, 2012

MommaC

Well done!
I wonder if it would also work on children who are born with cleft pallets and 'hare' lips?
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Jan 27, 2012

Siya5297

well thats nice news coming from south africa, thats the university u should strive to send your child to
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Jan 27, 2012

somaartakeit

coming to think of it the WC is no stranger to the world medical inventions, so maybe next time dana and co should think about tweeting about what's relevant instead of no brainer tweets she posts, I wonder when is that girl producing anything iro of business she's in Yvonne Chaka Chaka still rules iro of this industry, and she continues to make herself relevant by engaging in social developmen projects, wena dana you need to get a life and talent cause that's the ONLY thing which will sustain you in the industry you are in, I saw Yvonne got an award in Davos, well done my lady, I feel so proud of you, you obviously have a great team (your hubby) behind, who gives you strength to become the great person you are, and an inspiration to the nation.
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Jan 27, 2012

mureiks

this is very gooD!!
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Jan 27, 2012

mthobisimthimkhulu

May it not be some blogger here says its a racist univesity in a racist city....
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Jan 30, 2012

Oblongata

This is totally amazing. Well done! These are the kind of things the country and the world needs to hear about, not always shouting about the crime statistics all the other k*k that give this country a bad image
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Jan 31, 2012

MSG_S

Eish! here comes again this UCT. A lower jaw is most likely to get injuries and abnomalities than the upper hence the lower has got more flexibilyty and gain of injury than the intact upper counterpart. UCT always come up with this so called medical breakthtough Godly iventions that never ever come to fore.
All Athllets break their low jaw more often than the upper.

Professors are not sane peaple by the way
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