Vertebroplasty Using Calcium Triglyceride Bone Cement (Kryptonite™) for Vertebral Compression Fractures. A Single-Centre Preliminary Study of Outcomes at One-Year Follow-up

Bone adhesive materials: From bench to bedside

Biodegradable bone adhesives represent a highly sought-after type of biomaterial which would enable replacement of traditional metallic devices for fixation of bone. However, these biomaterials should fulfil an extremely large number of requirements. As a consequence, bone-adhesive biomaterials which meet all of these requirements are not yet commercially available. Therefore, this comprehensive review provides an extensive overview of the development of bone adhesives from a translational perspective. First, the definition, classification, and chemistry of various types of bone adhesives are highlighted to provide a detailed overview of this emerging class of biomaterials. In this review we particularly focused studies which describe the use of materials that are capable of gluing two pieces of bone together within a time frame of minutes to days. Second, this review critically reflects on i) the experimental conditions of commonly employed adhesion tests to assess bone adhesion and ii) the current state-of-the-art regarding their preclinical and clinical applicability.

Selections of Bone Cement Viscosity and Volume in Percutaneous Vertebroplasty: A Retrospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

We sought to evaluate the efficacy and complications of percutaneous vertebroplasty with different viscosities and volumes of bone cement in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs).

METHOD

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 307 patients treated for a single thoracolumbar level (T12-L2) OVCF in our hospital between January 2014 and December 2019. The patients were divided into 6 groups according to different viscosities (I: low-viscosity bone cement, II: high-viscosity bone cement) and injection volumes (A, 2-4 mL; B, 4-6 mL; C, 6-8 mL) of bone cement. Clinical and radiologic characteristics including visual analog scale, local kyphotic angle, anterior vertebral height ratio, cement leakage, and vertebral body recollapse rate were collected preoperatively, 2 days postoperation, and at the last follow-up to assess the efficacy and complications of each group.

RESULTS

Regarding efficacy, there was no significant difference between the 2 kinds of bone cement. Injecting >4 mL of cement can provide patients with good improvements of clinical indicators and a low vertebral body recollapse rate. Injecting 6-8 mL of bone cement slightly improved the radiologic indicators. However, the leakage rate of low-viscosity bone cement increased significantly when the volume exceeded 6 mL. The leakage rate of high-viscosity bone cement did not increase significantly at the volume of 6-8 mL.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, when treating single thoracolumbar level OVCFs, the recommended volume of low-viscosity bone cement is 4-6 mL while the optimal volume of high-viscosity bone cement is 6-8 mL.

Adhesive-Enhanced Sternal Closure: Feasibility and Safety of Late Sternal Reentry

This clinical case report describes sternal reentry performed years after adhesive-enhanced sternal closure using Kryptonite bone cement. This report provides novel data on the late effects of this innovation. We observed that sternal reentry is feasible and safe. The adhesive did not weaken from biodegradation over a period of several years. There was no evidence of adherence to adjacent soft tissues or other nonbony deep mediastinal structures. Surgeons who receive patients who require redoing cardiac surgery after adhesive-enhanced closure with Kryptonite can be reassured that sternal reentry is safe and feasible.

Is there an ideal implant for orbital reconstructions? Prospective 64-case study

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of porous polyethylene, titanium mesh, and castor oil-derived biopolymer randomized in orbital reconstructions of defects larger than 1 cm in length on the inferior and medial walls. A total of 63 patients (64 orbits) were evaluated to determine the presence of diplopia, enophthalmos ocular motility, and infraorbital nerve paraesthesia in both the preoperative and postoperative periods. The surgeons' opinions of the ease in handling the implants were also obtained after each procedure. The patients were divided into 3 groups: 17 received porous polyethylene, 21 received castor oil-derived biopolymer, and 26 received titanium mesh. In the preoperative period, 30 patients experienced enophthalmos, 11 experienced diplopia, and 12 experienced ocular motility. Ninety days after the orbital reconstruction, 6 cases of enophthalmos persisted, as did 2 cases of diplopia and 2 cases of ocular motility. Ten patients developed some type of postoperative complication. Material removal was required in only 1 case. Regardless of the size of the defect, the materials used were found to be effective for reconstructing orbital volume; they were also found to offer ease in handling and stabilization.

What's new in vertebral cementoplasty?

Vertebral cementoplasty is a well-known mini-invasive treatment to obtain pain relief in patients affected by vertebral porotic fractures, primary or secondary spine lesions and spine trauma through intrametameric cement injection. Two major categories of treatment are included within the term vertebral cementoplasty: the first is vertebroplasty in which a simple cement injection in the vertebral body is performed; the second is assisted technique in which a device is positioned inside the metamer before the cement injection to restore vertebral height and allow a better cement distribution, reducing the kyphotic deformity of the spine, trying to obtain an almost normal spine biomechanics. We will describe the most advanced techniques and indications of vertebral cementoplasty, having recently expanded the field of applications to not only patients with porotic fractures but also spine tumours and trauma.