Morsellized bone grafting compensates for femoral bone loss in revision total knee arthroplasty. An experimental study

This study was undertaken to examine the contribution of uncontained morsellized bone graft to the structural properties of a femoral reconstruction in total knee arthroplasty and to serve as a basis for an in vivo animal study. Ten human distal femora with a standard unicondylar uncontained medial bone defect were prepared to fit a femoral component of a cruciate sacrificing TKA. A cyclic axial load of 750 N was applied to the medial part of the femoral component in the presence of impacted morsellized bone graft. After removal of the bone graft, the cyclic loading was repeated for the unsupported situation. None of the grafts collapsed and all cement mantles stayed intact during the experiments. Elastic deformation during cyclic loading was significantly less when graft was added while time-dependent deformation was not affected. We conclude that impacted morsellized bone graft, used for reconstruction of uncontained femoral bone loss in revision knee arthroplasty, may improve the structural resistance against loading. Further animal experimentation for in vivo application is warranted. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.