Doctor explains Bismack Biyombo’s age-determining wrist test
I talked to Dr. Ben Wedro, whom you might remember from his explanation of DeJuan Blair’s lack of ACLs, about how Biyombo’s alleged wrist test works. Wedro – read his blog and follow him on Twitter – said:
Bones in the body calcify at times. There are age ranges when bones in the body can be seen on x-ray. Similarly, there are age ranges when growth plates close. There are a variety of radiology textbooks that are used as reference guides to compare a patient’s x-ray with the book’s “norm”.
Aside from your situation, bone age is useful in determining when a patient enters puberty, perhaps trying to determine ultimate height and how much time there is left for a patient to grow.
The wrist is useful because there are many bones present that calcify at different and predictable times. However, once all the bones have developed and the growth plates closed, the concept of bone age is no longer useful.
There are some blood tests available that can help forensic pathologists try to roughly determine a patient’s age but it is only accurate to nine years plus or minus.
That blood test obviously wouldn’t help here, so it looks like the wrist test is the best bet. I followed up with Wedro, asking his opinion of the test and whether there was a way to determine the x-ray showed Biyombo’s wrist, not someone else’s. I don’t know who’s seen the x-ray in the last two years, but I’d guess his professional teams have. So, it might not be too difficult to verify NBA teams are receiving the same x-ray taken that was taken two years ago. But how accurate is the test, and what if Crespo used a younger wrist-double in the first place? Wedro:
The wrist x ray would be reasonable accurate in estimating age.
The second question is harder. First, for what reason was an x ray taken two years ago? Was it for an injury or for another reason. Second, in most developed countries. A paper trail would be present that would link the patient to an x ray and its report. I do not know whether record keeping would be as precise as what we would expect to be normal in North America.
I explained that the x-ray was taken to determine his age, not because of an injury. With millions of dollars at stake, it wouldn’t shock me to hear Crespo used someone younger to imitate Biyombo. Wedro:
Unless there was something distinctive about one of the bones, like if there was a previous break that healed poorly, it might be difficult to make a definitive statement.
In the US, the paper trail might include a physician order, a radiology reading report, a bill for the services and they all would have identifying information like a name, birthdate, medical record number, address, etc.
So, unless Biyombo has a distinctive mark on his bones, which might cause a whole new set of issues, this probably comes down to how much you trust Spanish medical records, Crespo and Biyombo.
http://www.pistonpowered.com/2011/04/how-old-is-bismack-biyombo-a-doctor...
I guess this basically tells you that there really is no proof of his age and that his agent is doing what he is suppose to do sell Biyombo's potential. But buyer's beware he is a very raw athletic big man and only he knows his real age. And by all accounts it is in his best monetary interest that he says he is 18 not 20, 22, or 24.
