Comparative fatigue behavior of different bone cements.

Tensile and fatigue studies were performed on four different preparations of acrylic bone cement: (1) surgical Simplex-P inserted into molds in the dough stage, (2) Zimmer Low Viscosity Cement (LVC) inserted in the liquid phase, (3) an experimental cement inserted in the dough phase, and (4) the same experimental cement inserted in the liquid phase. The void characteristics of the cements appeared to dictate their mechanical performance. While tests revealed no difference in the tensile strengths of the four cement preparations, small but statistically significant differences in mean fatigue life were observed. The experimental cement used in the dough stage exhibited superior fatigue characteristics when compared with Simplex and LVC. LVC had the poorest mechanical properties of the four cement groups. Since the specimen preparation procedures can markedly influence the cement void characteristics and, consequently, the mechanical properties, general statements about different cement types are offered with considerable reservations.