CUSTOM-MADE MOLDS THAT PREVENT CEMENT EXTRUSION THROUGH BONE DEFECTS

The success of a hip arthroplasty using a cemented femoral component r elies in part on the quality of the cement technique, and is enhanced by obtaining a uniform, well-pressurized cement mantle around the pros thesis. For that reason, cortical bone defects in the femur pose techn ical difficulties for the surgeon planning a cemented femoral componen t. In this article, a new technique is presented that is used to preve nt cement extrusion through defects in the femoral cortex when pressur izing the cement mantle around the prosthesis. Custom-molded polymethy lmethacrylate (bone cement) plugs may be fashioned during operation to fill temporarily defects of almost any size.