Torsional Stability of a Chevron Interface for Intercalary Allograft Fixation of the Femur

Author Info

Jeremy P Zebroski Donald A Hackbarth Jr Mei Wang Sean C Tracy

Corresponding Author

Mei Wang
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

A B S T R A C T

Intercalary allografts are frequently used for diaphyseal long bone reconstruction following tumor resection. Torsional stability between allograft and host bone is an important factor in achieving osseous union at the interface and reducing fracture risk of the allograft. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the torsional stability of an intercalary allograft construct using a new chevron type of osteotomy. The torsional load of up to 4.0 Nm in both directions were applied to six matching pairs of fresh frozen cadaveric femurs, reconstructed using either a 60-degree chevron or a modified step-cut interface. The torsional stiffness of the construct and the interface rotation were compared between the two groups. The results showed that a construct with a 60-degree chevron interface had comparable interface rotations and stiffness as those with the modified step-cut interface. However, the large inter-specimen variations observed in rotation results of the modified step-cut suggest higher technical requirements associated with this procedure. The study also revealed a trend towards improved torsional stiffness with increased axial load of the chevron construct, combined with its 55% more surface area across the graft-host interface over the modified step-cut, which prove that 60-degree chevron interface may serve as a good alternative in intercalary allograft fixation.

Article Info

Article Type

Research Article

Publication history

Received: Wed 15, Jan 2020
Accepted: Mon 03, Feb 2020
Published: Wed 12, Feb 2020

Copyright

© 2023 Mei Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hosting by Science Repository.
DOI: 10.31487/j.JSO.2020.01.03