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Dear list subscribers,
We are doing an animal study on the fixation of implants in bone. We are
interested both in histology and in the mechanical fixation strength, but
we have a problem in determining both aspects in the same animal. For
good histology, we need to fix the material as soon as possible after
obduction. At the moment, we do that in 70% alcohol. However, we have
serious concerns about changes in the mechanical properties of the
tissues (and consequently in the fixation strength) due to this. In
particular, we are concerned about the mechanical property changes in
cement, fibrous tissue and bone. We could not find studies addressing
this particular question, and therefore would like to put the following
questions on the net:
1. Does anyone have information on the mechanical changes of the cement,
fibrous tissue and bone due to fixation in alcohol?
2. Does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative fixation method,
especially one that would not (or hardly) affect the mechanical
properties?
Obviously, we also considered the possibility of sawing bone and implant
first and a fixation afterwards, but sawing several slices through an
implant takes several hours, and our histology department is most
suspicious about the quality of histology if we would do it like that.
Maybe there also are suggestions how to reassure these people, e.g. by
good examples from elsewhere.
Many thanks in advance,
Theo Smit
University Hospital Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
e-mail: th.smit@azvu.nl
We are doing an animal study on the fixation of implants in bone. We are
interested both in histology and in the mechanical fixation strength, but
we have a problem in determining both aspects in the same animal. For
good histology, we need to fix the material as soon as possible after
obduction. At the moment, we do that in 70% alcohol. However, we have
serious concerns about changes in the mechanical properties of the
tissues (and consequently in the fixation strength) due to this. In
particular, we are concerned about the mechanical property changes in
cement, fibrous tissue and bone. We could not find studies addressing
this particular question, and therefore would like to put the following
questions on the net:
1. Does anyone have information on the mechanical changes of the cement,
fibrous tissue and bone due to fixation in alcohol?
2. Does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative fixation method,
especially one that would not (or hardly) affect the mechanical
properties?
Obviously, we also considered the possibility of sawing bone and implant
first and a fixation afterwards, but sawing several slices through an
implant takes several hours, and our histology department is most
suspicious about the quality of histology if we would do it like that.
Maybe there also are suggestions how to reassure these people, e.g. by
good examples from elsewhere.
Many thanks in advance,
Theo Smit
University Hospital Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
e-mail: th.smit@azvu.nl