SINCE the first description of vertebroplasty in 1987 for the treatment of aggressive hemangiomas (1), vertebroplasty has become established as a safe and effective, minimally invasive procedure that offers a therapeutic option for patients with back pain from osteoporotic or tumor-related fractures. This initial success has spawned additional techniques for percutaneous vertebral augmentation,...

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bone cements have a long and successful history of use for implant fixation, but suffer from a relatively low fracture and fatigue resistance which can result in failure of the cement and the implant. Fiber or particulate reinforcement has been used to improve mechanical properties, but typically at the expense of the pre-cured cement viscosity, which is critica...

The long-term success of a total joint replacement can be undermined by loosening of the implant, generation of wear debris or a combination of both factors. In the present study the influence of the surface morphologies of the bone and cement mantle on loosening of cemented total joint replacements (THJRs) and development of wear debris were studied. Model cemented THJR specimens were prepared...

Background and purpose - The bone cement market for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Norway has been dominated by a few products and distributors. Palacos with gentamicin had a market share exceeding 90% before 2005, but it was then withdrawn from the market and replaced by new slightly altered products. We have compared the survival of TKAs fixated with Palacos with gentamicin with the surviva...

We report a case of pulmonary bone cement embolism in a female who presented with dyspnea following multiple sessions of vertebroplasty. She underwent spectral CT pulmonary angiography and the diagnosis was made based on enhanced visualization of radiopaque cement material in the pulmonary arteries and a corresponding decrease in the parenchymal iodine content. Here, we describe the CT angiogra...

The effect of artificial pozzolan (waste brick) on the physico-chemical properties of cement manufactured was investigated. The waste brick is generated by the manufacture of bricks. It was used in the proportions of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% by mass of cement to study its effect on the physico-chemical properties of cement incorporating artificial pozzolan. The physicochemical properties of cem...

This study was to investigate the influence of bone cement implantation on haemodynamics and the preventive effect of epinephrine hydrochloride on pulmonary embolism in elderly patients with cemented semihip replacement. 128 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were treated with (group A, 64 cases) or without (group B, 64 cases) epinephrine hydrochloride saline. The monitoring i...

BACKGROUND Around about 1970, a gentamicin-loaded poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) bone cement brand (Refobacin Palacos R) was introduced to control infection in joint arthroplasties. In 2005, this brand was replaced by two gentamicin-loaded follow-up brands, Refobacin Bone Cement R and Palacos R + G. In addition, another gentamicin-loaded cement brand, SmartSet GHV, was introduced in Europe in...

BACKGROUND Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) is commonly used for clinical applications. However, the short handling time increases the probability of a surgeon missing the crucial period in which the cement maintains its ideal viscosity for a successful injection. The aim of this article was to illustrate the effects a reduction in temperature would have on the cement handling time during percutan...