Tiger BufordYour Orthopedic Industry Expert (free today)

How orthopedic instrument product development was conducted in the old days

7 Jun 2025 · 1 min

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Tiger Buford describes his early days as an engineer at Mayo Clinic, when orthopedic instrument development had no formal quality system. A surgeon once threw a failed instrument at him during surgery and demanded a working replacement in weeks. Engineers carried prototypes in suitcases directly to operating rooms.

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I was a young engineer. I was at Mayo Clinic back in the good old days when you could just bring an instrument in and try it without any quality system. And the surgeon puts the instrument into total knee, doesn't work, throws it at me. It's all bloody. I catch it and he says, this doesn't work. Bring something back that works in a couple weeks. And boy, did I remember that forever. You know, in the good old days, you put the instrument in your suitcase and you just went to surgery. Yep.