Allogenic bone graft viability after hip revision arthroplasty assessed by dynamic [18F]fluoride ion positron emission tomography

The biological fate of allogenic bone grafts in the acetabular cavity and their metabolic activity after acetabular augmentation is uncertain but is most important for the stability of hip implants after hip revision arthroplasty. The aim of this study was to quantify regional bone metabolism after hip replacement operations. Dynamic [18F]fluoride ion positron emission tomography (PET) was used to investigate the metabolic activity of acetabular allogenic bone grafts and genuine bone, either 3–6 weeks (short-term group, n = 9) or 5 months to 9 years (long-term group, n = 10) after hip revision arthroplasty. Applying a three-compartment model, the fluoride influx constant was calculated from individually fitted rate constants (Knlf) and by Patlak graphical analysis (Kpat). The results were compared with genuine cancellous and cortical acetabular bone of contralateral hips without surgical trauma (n = 7). In genuine cortical bone, Knlf was significantly increased in short- (+140.9%) and long-term (+100.0%) groups compared with contralateral hips. Allogenic bone grafts were characterised by a significantly increased Knlf in the short-term group (+190.9%) compared with contralateral hips, but decreased almost to the baseline levels of contralateral hips (+45.5%) in the long-term. Values of Knlf cor-related with the rate constant K1 in genuine (r = 0.89, P<0.001) and allogenic bone regions (r = 0.79, P<0.001), indicating a coupling between bone blood flow and bone metabolism in genuine bone as well as allogenic bone grafts. Kpat values were highly correlated with Knlf measurements in all regions. In conclusion, [18F]fluoride ion PET revealed the presence of an increased host bone formation in allogenic bone grafts early after hip revision arthroplasty. In contrast to genuine cortical bone, allogenic bone graft metabolism decreased over time, possibly due to a reduced ability to respond to the same extent as genuine bone to elevated metabolic demands after surgery.