Mechanical assays were performed in order to evaluate the effect of the insertion torque on the pullout resistance of pedicular screws. Thirty vertebrae of Landrace pigs were used in the study, with 5-mm screws being inserted into the vertebral pedicles. The pilot hole was drilled with 1.5, 3.8 and 4.5 mm burrs. Mechanical assays of implant pullout resistance were performed with a universal testing machine. An increase in the insertion torque of the screws was observed when a pilot hole with a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the screw was drilled, and a reduction was observed when the diameter of the pilot hole was larger than the inner diameter of the screw. A statistically significant difference in the insertion torque values was observed. The pullout resistance of the implants increased when the pilot hole had a smaller diameter than the inner diameter of the screw and decreased when the pilot hole had a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the screw. A statistically significant difference in implant pullout resistance was observed only when the diameter of the pilot hole was larger than the inner diameter of the screw.
Spine; Bone screws; Biomechanics; Orthopedic fixation devices
