Dimensional behavior of curing bone cement masses

The curing of bone cements is accompanied by release of polymerization heat and, hence, by a temperature rise of the curing cement mass. This temperature rise causes expansion of enclosed air bubbles and evaporation of the volatile monomer. An overall expansion of 3 to 5 vol % has been mentioned in the literature. It has often been stated that this expansion favours the fixation of metal endoprostheses in the marrow cavity of bone. To check for the influence of this expansion on linear dimensions of the cured cement mass we filled stainless steel cylinders with a precision bore of 22,000 +/- 0,005 mm and a length of 120 mm with bone cement. After curing of the cement in a environment of 37 degrees C the resulting cement rod was released from the cylinder and the diameter of the rod was measured at 37 degrees C. The influence of the "foaming effect" on the transverse dimensions of the rods was studied by curing the cement at 37 degrees C and 2 atm air pressure in a high-pressure-vessel. This method of curing eliminates porosity in the cement almost completely, so that curing shrinkage is to be expected rather than expansion of the cement mass. The results indicate that a volumetric expansion of the cement during curing of cylindrical rods in laboratory experiments, can be accompanied by a linear diametrical shrinkage of the cement mass. The explanation of this phenomenon is to be sought in the fact that the volumetric expansion takes place at a time when the cement is still plastic; by the formation of gas bubbles, the cement is forced in longitudinal direction into the cylinder and when the temperature of the mass has passed through a maximum, the cooling of the cement mass results in a thermal shrinkage of approximately 0.4% linearly. Extrapolating this laboratory result to clinical situation one might doubt whether the overall expansion of bone cements during curing will result in a permanent positive pressure on the walls of marrow cavity and whether it will contribute to a better fixation of endoprostheses than in the case of a, still hypothetical, nonporous cement.