Radioactivity studies on 2 synovial specimens after radiation synovectomy with yttrium-90 silicate.

Synovial membranes surgically removed from the knees of 2 patients who had received radioactive yttrium-90 silicate have been examined. Autoradiographs showed that in both cases the activity was unevenly distributed over the synovium. One of the specimens, removed 7 weeks after administration of the isotope, was found to contain a slight degree of radioactivity, attributable in part to a long-lived radioactive contaminant.