[The excretion of methylmethacrylate from bone cement through the lungs (author's transl)].

By using a continuous infra-red monitoring technique, it could be shown that in 42 patients undergoing TEP surgery methylmethacrylate is excreted through the lungs. The amount of monomer eliminated in the exhaled air is less following acetabulum implantation than following femoral shaft implantation. The concentration of monomer in the exhaled air is strongly influenced by measures such as femoral shaft drainage, washing the implantation site with icewater and lengthening the cement mixing time which reduce the transfer of the monomer. Pulmonary elimination of MMA-monomer takes 20 min and is very fast.