Biomechanical effects of harvesting bone graft with the Reamer/Irrigator/Aspirator

The reamer/irrigator/aspirator (RIA) is a means of harvesting bone graft from the intramedullary canal of the femur. It is a one-pass flexible reamer that limits embolic debris by aspirating the contents of the intramedullary canal as the reamer passes distally. We hypothesize that reaming a structurally sound femur will not degrade its material properties sufficiently to warrant post-reaming fixation or altered weight-bearing status. Using cadaveric femurs, half of which were reamed with the RIA to 15 mm, specimens were tested in torsion and showed that there was not a significant change in mean torsional stiffness and mean torsional rigidity. Based on this, we concluded that use of the RIA for purposes of harvesting bone graft did not significantly affect a femur's biomechanical properties.