[An experimental study on a new artificial vertebral body].
This study was undertaken to develop a new artificial vertebral body (AVB) for metastatic tumors, and to confirm its feasibility for practical use. (1) In mechanical tests using bovine cancellous bone and the vertebrae of fresh human cadavers, six ways of fixing the AVBs to cancellous bone were compared. A rectangular plate with a blunt-toothed surface fixed into a bone groove with cement proved to be the best fixation method. (2) In experiments using seven dogs, small AVBs were applied to the 4th lumbar vertebra and the plate portions were fixed into the grooves made in the 3rd and 5th vertebrae. Undecalcified specimens of these vertebrae were examined 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after the operations. New bone formation was found around the grooves and endplates. The height of AVBs could be adjusted. By endurance tests AVBs were well tolerated and remained unchanged. The results of these experiments have indicated that the new AVB appeared to be feasible for clinical application.
Waku
S
S
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009984:Orthopedic Fixation Devices; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D013131:Spine