Bonding behavior of bioactive bone cement in segmental replacement of rabbit tibia: comparison with PMMA bone cement

摘要

We have developed a bioactive bone cement (BABC) which consists of apatite and wollastonite containing glass-ceramic (AW-GC) powder and bisphenol-A-glycidyl dimethacrylate (Bis-GMA)-based resin. In the present study, the effectiveness of the BABC for repair of segmental bone defects under load-bearing conditions was examined using a rabbit-tibia model. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement was used as a control. A 15-mm-length of bone was resected from the middle of the shaft of the tibia, and the tibia was fixed by two Kirschner wires. The defects were replaced by cement. Each cement was used in 12 rabbits, with six rabbits each being killed at 12 and 25 weeks after surgery and the tibia containing the bone cement was excised and tension-tested. At both the intervals studied, the failure loads of the BABC were significantly higher than those of the PMMA cement. The BABC was in direct contact with bone, whereas soft tissue was observed between cement and bone in all PMMA cement specimens. Results indicated that the BABC was useful as a bone substitute under load-bearing conditions.