Background: Minimally invasive, battery-powered drilling systems have become the preferred tool for obtaining representative samples from bone lesions. However, the heat generated during battery-powered bone drilling for bone biopsies has not yet been sufficiently investigated. Thermal necrosis can occur if the bone temperature exceeds a critical threshold for a certain period of time.
Purpose: To investigate heat production as a function of femur temperature during and after battery-powered percutaneous bone drilling in a porcine in vivo model.
Methods: We performed 16 femur drillings in 13 domestic pigs with an average age of 22 weeks and an average body temperature of 39.7 degrees C, using a battery-powered drilling system and an intraosseous temperature monitoring device. The standardized duration of the drilling procedure was 20 s. The bone core specimens obtained were embedded in 4% formalin, stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and sent for pathological analysis of tissue quality and signs of thermal damage.
Results: No significant changes in the pigs' local temperature were observed after bone drilling with a battery-powered drill device. Across all measurements, the median change in temperature between the initial measurement and the temperature measured after drilling (at 20 s) was 0.1 degrees C. Histological examination of the bone core specimens revealed no signs of mechanical or thermal damage.
Conclusion: Overall, this preliminary study shows that battery-powered, drill-assisted harvesting of bone core specimens does not appear to cause mechanical or thermal damage.
