Fixation of bone fragments with BIOCEM. First observations on humans.

BIOCEM is a recently developed material that consists of bisphenol-a-glycidyl methacrylate ("epoxide methacrylate") as the organic matrix and pentacalcium hydroxide triphosphate ("tricalcium phosphate") with or without bioceramic A2 as the filling particles. Previous animal experimentation has demonstrated that BIOCEM can establish and maintain direct contact with bone without compromising tissue vitality. Rather, it favors with time the ingrowth of, and coverage by, newly formed bone, thus creating interdigitations and strong fixation of the implant. This novel technique has now, for the first time, successfully been applied in humans, ie, for the fixation of frontal sinuses. Clinical, radiological, and histological findings are briefly reported, and it is also shown that the frontal sinus mucosa had recovered at the inside of the lesions filled with BIOCEM.