Regional variation in distal femur subchondral bone mineral density: An in vitro human cadaveric model

IF 1.5 Q3 ORTHOPEDICS

Journal of orthopaedics Pub Date : 2025-08-09 DOI:10.1016/j.jor.2025.08.003

Kyle W. Zittel , Kyle P. Zielinski , Madison C. Thompson , William F. Postma , Ryan S. Murray , Bryan W. Cunningham

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Osteochondral defects of the knee are a frequent cause of pain that often require surgical intervention. Restorative procedures such as osteochondral autograft transplantation (OAT) and osteochondral allograft transplantation (OCA) aim to replace cartilage lesions with healthy autologous tissue or cadaveric tissue from the distal femur, respectively. Osteochondral graft donor sites are selected to optimize donor-recipient site congruity by assessing factors such as surface topography, cartilage thickness, and contact pressures. However, few studies have evaluated subchondral bone mineral density (BMD) when selecting an osteochondral graft donor site.

Purpose

To examine bone morphology and characterize variation in subchondral BMD of the human distal femur.

Study design

Descriptive Laboratory Study.

Methods

18 human cadaveric distal femurs were utilized in the current study. All soft tissue and ligaments of the distal femur were removed. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans were performed on each femur to determine BMD of five regions of interest (ROI). ROIs included the entire distal femur, medial condyle, lateral condyle, posterior condyles, and trochlea. Subsequently, 90 osteochondral bone plugs (10 mm diameter, 10 mm depth) were harvested collectively from the medial and lateral trochlea of included specimens. DEXA scans of each osteochondral graft were then performed. Statistical analysis was performed via Welch Two-Sample t-test. Significance was defined as p < 0.05.

Results

All specimens were included for analysis. There were no significant differences in the dimensional characteristics or BMDs of corresponding ROIs across distal femurs. There was no significant difference in the BMD of the medial condyle compared to the lateral condyle, and the posterior condyle compared to the trochlea. Also, there was no significant difference in BMD of grafts extracted from the medial and lateral trochlea (all p > 0.05).

Conclusion

No significant difference was found in BMD between the medial and lateral condyles, trochlea and posterior condyles, or osteochondral grafts harvested from the medial and lateral trochlear ridges of the distal femur.

Clinical relevance

Similar BMD between common osteochondral donor and recipient sites may provide surgeons with added confidence that fewer adjustments must be made to optimize congruity with respect to bone density.

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股骨远端软骨下骨密度的区域变化：体外人尸体模型

背景：膝关节软骨缺损是引起疼痛的常见原因，通常需要手术干预。自体骨软骨移植（OAT）和同种异体骨软骨移植（OCA）等修复手术旨在分别用健康的自体组织或股骨远端尸体组织替代软骨病变。通过评估诸如表面形貌、软骨厚度和接触压力等因素，选择骨软骨移植供体来优化供体和受体的一致性。然而，很少有研究在选择骨软骨移植供体时评估软骨下骨密度（BMD）。目的研究人类股骨远端骨形态及软骨下骨密度变化特征。研究设计描述性实验室研究。方法采用18根人尸体远端股骨作为实验材料。切除股骨远端所有软组织和韧带。对每根股骨进行双能x线吸收仪（DEXA）扫描，以确定五个感兴趣区域（ROI）的骨密度。ROIs包括整个股骨远端、内侧髁、外侧髁、后髁和滑车。随后，从所包括标本的内侧和外侧滑车中共收获90个骨软骨骨塞（直径10 mm，深度10 mm）。然后对每个骨软骨移植物进行DEXA扫描。采用Welch双样本t检验进行统计学分析。显著性定义为p <；0.05.结果所有标本均纳入分析。股骨远端相应roi的尺寸特征和骨密度无显著差异。内侧髁与外侧髁的骨密度无显著差异，后髁与滑车的骨密度无显著差异。此外，从滑车内侧和外侧提取移植物的骨密度无显著差异(均p >；0.05)。结论股骨远端滑车内外侧髁、滑车后髁、滑车内外侧脊骨软骨移植在骨密度上无明显差异。临床相关性：常见骨软骨供体和受体之间相似的骨密度可以为外科医生提供更少的调整以优化骨密度一致性的信心。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of orthopaedics ORTHOPEDICS-

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

6.70%

发文量

202

审稿时长

56 days

期刊介绍： Journal of Orthopaedics aims to be a leading journal in orthopaedics and contribute towards the improvement of quality of orthopedic health care. The journal publishes original research work and review articles related to different aspects of orthopaedics including Arthroplasty, Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, Trauma, Spine and Spinal deformities, Pediatric orthopaedics, limb reconstruction procedures, hand surgery, and orthopaedic oncology. It also publishes articles on continuing education, health-related information, case reports and letters to the editor. It is requested to note that the journal has an international readership and all submissions should be aimed at specifying something about the setting in which the work was conducted. Authors must also provide any specific reasons for the research and also provide an elaborate description of the results.