Need Medical Hardware Supplier

This might be a first for GRM.  I am looking for a parts supplier.  Not just any parts, but medical implant hardware.  Without getting into the whole story, my neck broke in March.  Fortunately not bad and not completely, but it did paralyze parts of my right (dominant) arm.  I had surgery in June and now have some titanium in me.  I'd like another set of these parts to look at and so I know what size Torx bit the screws are if the parts have to be removed decades from now.  During my post-op visit, I asked the neurosurgeon for a parts list and he gave me the company name, Globus Medical, and helped me locate which parts he used.  Unfortunately, Globus  said they will only sell tools and parts to a physician.  Since I was given the all clear by the Dr., I'm "as needed" with no more hospitals or doctors in my future (hopefully).   I'm not sure I can call him up now and ask such a weird question over the phone.  I plan to though, but don't expect to get anywhere since he didn't offer to let me buy them during the visit.  Although he may not know the sales policy Globus has.

So my question is anyone have a connection (know a doctor or distributor) or have a suggestion?

Rather macabre request...

FDA might have issue with that.

But eBay?

You need a tattoo: No user serviceable parts inside

Seriously, though - if you don't trust your future surgeon to use the right size Torx bit, I'm not sure you should let them operate.

In reply to Ranger50 :

Not sure why it's macabre.  I didn't die and I don't plan to open my own spine repair shop.   It's just 3D printed titanium brackets, spacers, and screws.  And my Torx comment was not entirely serious.  I had a lot of time to research the procedure and there are many types of hardware and special fasteners for spine surgery.  My Dr. said he has a tool kit to remove old, obsolete hardware and that they drill them out if they don't have the right tool.  Mostly I just want to see and hold what's holding my spine together.

In reply to Apis Mellifera :

That's not that crazy a request, the surgeon that worked on Jodi's ankle had some hardware to show us when she asked. It was a fairly common injury though so that may have helped. 

Ranger50 said:

Rather macabre request...

FDA might have issue with that.

But eBay?

I'm not sure what "pre-owned" means, or if I want to know:

Pre-owned parts

Best bet might be to get your hands on the FDA certification docs for the product. 

But yeah, this might be one of the stranger request on GRM. Not sure why or what you plan to do with the info? Self-surgery as a "Build Thread" might be cool.

Its been awhile since i worked in ortho spine, but alot of these systems use proprietary engagement tools, variations on torx or hex drives, designed with locking drivers so they stay connected to the tool during installation (don't want to drop a screw or strip the head). 

All your current implants are documented, so if you should need a revision, the surgeon will plan accordingly and have a rep from the old system in the room, along with extraction sets that can remove pretty much any hardware system ever used.

In reply to No Time :

A lot of times the expired equipment, aka not guaranteed to be sterile anymore, ends up on eBay or is sent off to third world countries for mission trips.

Apis Mellifera said:

Mostly I just want to see and hold what's holding my spine together.

The company presumably has a factory rep who visits the hospital where you had the work done.  If all  you want is to look at the parts, maybe you could arrange a meeting with that person- they most likely have a briefcase full of equipment they use for demonstration purposes.

edit:  I don't know what ever happened to it, but before he died my dad had an artificial hip joint fail and after the operation the doctor gave it to him.  I thought it would have made an interesting shift lever.

By the way, I'm sorry about your injury. I'm glad surgery helped and I hope it improves.

I have to say, this might top the thread looking for horse blood on short notice. 

Semi related: I met a guy at the lemons race in Hallett this year that was carrying around his old knee in a plastic Walmart bag. He'd just gotten the implant replaced and his doc gave him the old one. It was surprisingly heavy, apparently the new one was several times lighter.

In reply to Duke :

Thanks.  A lifetime of enjoying skateboards, motorcycles, race cars, and sailboats.. or more accurately a lifetime of wrecking skateboards, motorcycles.... you pay for it later and there can be a seemingly minor last straw event.  My arm is really weak (2lb lift capacity), but works now, so I'm happy with the results and have started PT.

For those asking why I want the parts.  Why not?  I have things like a Ti Corvette rod, old 911 cylinder, and F-4 Phantom turbine parts on my desk.  Why not have spine parts.  They have equally impressive designs and machine work.

And if you want macabre, one of our inspectors at work was conducting an annual stack and facility inspection at a crematorium when the manager produced a box containing leftover non-combustible, metal parts.  Neither had any idea what to do with the material, so the box went back on the shelf.