Blood perfusion and remodelling activity in canine tibial diaphysis after filling with a new bone cement compared to bone wax and poly(methyl methacrylate) cement.

Six dogs each had one tibia filled with standard poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bone cement and the contralateral tibia filled with a new methyl methacrylate-n-decyl methacrylate-isobornyl methacrylate (MMA-DMA-IBMA) bone cement (Boneloc) with lowered polymerization heat and monomer leakage. An additional six dogs each had one tibia filled with MMA-DMA-IBMA and the contralateral tibia filled with bone wax. There was a higher diaphyseal blood flow, measured with a microsphere technique, in the legs filled with MMA-DMA-IBMA than in those filled with PMMA. The wax-filled bones presented higher blood perfusion than those with MMA-DMA-IBMA. We found a tendency towards higher 99mtechnetium-labelled methylene diphosphonate (99mTcMDP) uptake, and autoradiograms revealed a tendency towards larger subperiosteal apposition and more blackening, both at the subperiosteal apposition and the cortex, in the bones filled with new bone cement in the first series, but in wax-filled bone in the second series. It is concluded that the new bone cement, compared to standard acrylic bone cement, seems to inhibit the vascular response and bone remodelling activity less, making earlier remodelling possible. However, the new bone cement still seems to inhibit bone blood perfusion compared to bone wax.