Risk Assessment for Pathological Fracture After Bone Tumour Biopsy.

Aim This study aimed to identify the risk of pathological fractures after bone tumour biopsy. Materials and methods Fifty rabbit femurs were divided into groups according to defect size: Control (no defect), type 1 (10% width), type 2 (20% width), type 3 (30% width), and type 4 (40% width). Another 20 were also divided into control, type A (27% length), type B (40% length), and type C (53% length) groups. Performing femoral head compression testing allowed each parameter (maximum load, displacement, elastic modulus, and fracture energy) to be calculated individually. Results Compressive maximum load was significantly higher for type 1 than for the other types when testing rectangular defects of different widths, while there were no significant differences between the three types when testing by defect length. Conclusion It may be useful for orthopaedic oncologists to make a rectangular biopsy hole with a width measuring less than 10% of the circumference and to enlarge the hole longitudinally to avoid pathological fracture.