Updated: Thu Nov. 12 2009 17:23:39

ctvcalgary.ca

A Calgary cardiac surgeon has found a better way to help his open heart surgery patients to recover.

Dr. Paul Fedak is taking a page out of the Superman comics and is trying out Kryptonite bone cement to repair the sternum after surgery.

During open heart surgery the patient under goes median sternotomy.

The procedure involves cutting the sternum in half to give surgeons access to the heart and it is traditionally repaired with Sternum Wires which are twisted around the bone to keep the two sides together.

The old method usually works well but if the bones come apart the patient experiences intense pain and that can affect their ability to heal and add complications like pneumonia.

The Kryptonite glue reduces the pain and helps patients heal quicker by allowing them to breath deeply and cough right away.

Using Kryptonite allows the breast bone to adhere together within hours instead of several weeks as is the case when using traditional methods.

Dr. Fedak has only used the bone cement on a limited basis and he is starting a worldwide study to verify its benefits.

A couple of doctors in Calgary have also used Kryptonite to fix broken ribs.