Is synthetic bone graft safe in an infected revision?
Straight answers for surgeons in IU Health, IN, from a team that covers revision cases every week.
You are revising an infected total knee at IU Health. There is bone loss behind the tibial component. You need to fill that defect, but you are not sure a synthetic graft is safe to place in a field that was just infected. You do not want to create a hiding spot for bacteria.
The fear is that a graft becomes a sequestrum. A dead piece of material that bacteria can colonize. Structural allografts carry that risk. They are dense and slow to incorporate. Blood flow and antibiotics cannot reach deep inside them.
A porous synthetic graft like ACTIFUSE works differently. It is 80% interconnected pores. That structure wicks in blood and allows new bone to grow through it. More importantly, it lets systemic and local antibiotics reach every part of the graft. You are not implanting a dead block. You are placing a scaffold that gets replaced by the patient's own living bone.
Use it as part of a staged protocol. After debridement and antibiotic spacer removal, pack the defect with the graft. Mix it with local antibiotics per your protocol. Close and let the body do the work. Elite Surgical can be in your OR to walk the team through handling and mixing. We cover cases across IU Health and will have the published data ready for your review.
Once healed, the graft is gone. It is replaced by vascularized host bone. No foreign body remains. No dead space. Just a stable implant with no hiding place for infection to return.
Other things people in IU Health ask
bone graft for tibial bone loss revision knee
Pack the contained defect with a porous synthetic bone graft scaffold. It should hold shape and remodel as the revision heals. Do not leave the defect empty or filled with cement alone.
bone graft substitute for large acetabular defect revision hip
Pick a graft that packs the defect well and has high porosity for bone ingrowth. ACTIFUSE's 80% porous scaffold fills contained defects and remodels into the patient's own bone as the revision heals. For very large defects, consider a moldable version like ACTIFUSE SHAPE to adapt to irregular contours. Avoid grafts that resorb too fast and leave the cup unsupported.
bone graft for tibial defect during knee revision
Pack the contained defect with a moldable bone graft substitute that has high porosity and remodels into host bone. Avoid autograft if the patient already has a second surgical site. The graft should support the new implant while healing.
how to choose bone graft femoral defect revision hip
Look for a porous scaffold that holds shape when packed and remodels over time. Match the graft format to the defect. A runny material will not stay in an open femoral defect.
how to choose bone graft substitute for femoral defect revision hip
Choose a moldable synthetic bone graft substitute for irregular femoral defects. It should pack into the canal without extra instruments. Look for a graft that remodels into host bone so the area is not left with permanent filler.
Ready to talk?
Elite Surgical handles hip & knee revision in IU Health and the area around it.