[Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in repairing bone defect with vascularized bone graft- reconstituted bone xenograft]

Abstract

Objective: To study efficiency of vascularized bone graft combining with reconstituted bone xenograft (RBX) in repairing bone defect and the expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in serum.

Methods: From January 1998 to December 2002, 27 cases of bones defects were treated and randomly divided into 3 groups according to different repair materials: group A (the vascularized bone graft- RBX group, n=9), group B (the vascularized bone graft group, n=10) and group C(the RBX group, n=8). The bone defect repair, the bone healing time and the bone graft resorption were observed by radiograph after 3 months, 6 months and 12 months of operation, and the expression of VEGF in serum was assayed with lumino-enzyme immunoassay before operation and after operative 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks and 8 weeks respectively.

Results: The X-ray films showed that the bone healing was achieved in 8 cases of group A, in 6 cases of group B and in 3 cases of group C after 3 months; in 1 case of group A, respectively in 3 cases of both group B and group C after 6 months. The bone graft resorption was observed in 1 case of group B and in 2 cases of group C after 12 months. The serum VEGF values after operative 2 weeks and 4 weeks were higher than those before operation in all of 3 groups (P<0. 05), and the VEGF values of groups A and B were higher than that group C(P<0. 05) after 4 weeks. There were no significant differences (P>0. 05) in serum VEGF level between postoperative 6, 8 weeks and pre-operation in 3 groups.

Conclusion: The expression of serum VEGF obviously increase in the early period of bone transplanting, it is value of clinical evaluation of reparative efficiency of bone defect.