When is it appropriate to use bone cements in knee replacements?
Dr. Fitz: In general all partial replacements are cemented in the US. There are some non-cemented UKAs on the market in Europe, but their long-term follow-up results are inferior to cemented versions and are less frequently performed. Long-term results of some non-cemented femoral components in TKR are encouraging, but the norm are cemented components. One of the major disadvantages of non-cemented components is the loss of bone stock if the joint replacement fails. Cemented components have the advantage of using small oscillating blades to separate the cement-implant interface, and in my experience the total amount of bone loss is less as compared to non-cemented components. Knee1: How has your research on the orthopedic applications of nanotechnology improved the efficacy of bone cements? Dr. Fitz: Unfortunately it has not yet improved the quality of commercially available bone cements. Although, we have demonstrated an improvement of fatigue properties compared to commercially avail
