Enhanced ingrowth of porous-coated CoCr implants plasma-sprayed with tricalcium phosphate

Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) is an osteo-conductive bioceramic which, when applied to a porous-coated prosthesis, may enhance osseous ingrowth and mechanical stability. TCP plasma-sprayed and unsprayed porous-coated tibial intramedullary rods were bilaterally implanted in seven adult rabbits. All rabbits were killed at 12 weeks. Pull-out tests were performed on 4 rabbits while all were evaluated histologically for osseous response and adverse tissue reaction. TCP-sprayed implants showed significantly greater osseous ingrowth in comparison to unsprayed implants. Neither implant type exhibited adverse tissue reactions. Average pull-out strengths were 69 lb for treated rods and 72 lb for controls (p greater than 0.05); quality of fit for all pull-out specimens except one was deemed poor. We conclude that plasma-sprayed TCP enhances osseous ingrowth into porous-coated devices. However, our data further suggest that enhanced ingrowth may not always lead to enhanced fixation.