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A bone void filler is a material placed in a gap in bone to give new bone something to grow into. The gap might follow a fracture, the curettage of a benign cyst, or the surgery itself, such as when hardware is removed. A space left empty tends to fill with hematoma and fibrous tissue, and bone may be slow to bridge it. The category is broad, and the materials in it behave very differently. This article explains the main types of bone void filler, where surgeons use them, and where they don't...

In the operating room, "bone cement" can mean three different things. Usually it means PMMA. Sometimes it means a calcium phosphate cement. Occasionally it means a magnesium-based filler that happens to set hard. Because the names overlap, a basic difference gets lost. PMMA is a permanent polymer designed to carry load. A resorbable bone void filler is a scaffold the body is meant to replace with bone over time. They do different jobs, and in most cases the defect itself decides which one you...