Effect of intramedullary bone cement fixation on fracture healing

The effect of bone cement implanted in the marrow cavity on the fracture healing process was assessed in rabbits with an experimentally induced transverse fracture of the tibia. In the cement treated animals external callus formation occurred slowly, due to poor bone-forming capacity of the endosteum and a failure to form a bridge at the fracture site. Numerous resorption cavities then occurred in the cortical bone. The microangiogram revealed a lack of blood supply from the marrow in the cement treated group. Thus, the histological changes were probably due to obstruction of the marrow blood supply to cortical and endosteal bone.