Pulse-lavage washing is an effective method for defatting of morselized allograft bone in the operating theater.
OBJECTIVE
Incorporation of fresh-frozen allograft bone and safety aspects associated with this procedure can be improved by removing blood and lipids from the bone. We investigated in a quantitative manner how efficient pulse lavage might be for removal of adipose tissue from morselized allograft bone.


METHODS
Depending on the study, the washing was performed with an average of 0.8 L or 1.6 L of sterile saline at room temperature. Fat content of the morselized bone samples was determined using hexane elution. The efficiency of pulse lavage alone was compared with that after an additional wash in 12 L of warm water (55 degrees C). Unprocessed controls were also included for comparison.


RESULTS
Pulse lavage with 0.8 L saline alone removed 80% of the fat from the bone, whereas 95% of the fat was removed when washing was performed with 1.6 L of saline. The cleansing efficacy was improved further when an additional wash with warm water was used.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that pulse-lavage washing alone at room temperature is an effective method for defatting of morselized allograft bone, but an additional wash with warm water improves the cleansing efficiency. Pulse lavage is easily available and simple to use in the operating theater.
Haimi
Suvi
S
Regea Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. suvi.haimi@regea.fi
Wahlman
Marko
M
Mannila
Mari
M
Virtanen
Vesa
V
Hirn
Martti
M
D018586:Bone Banks; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D006586:Hexanes; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D006586:Hexanes; D012965:Sodium Chloride