Experimental comparison of bovine-derived xenograft, xenograft-autologous bone marrow and autogenous bone graft for the treatment of bony defects in the rabbit ulna

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether bone marrow grafted percutaneously has an effect on the healing of bony defects filled with bone-derived xenografts.

Materials and methods: Eighty New Zealand albino rabbits with an average age of approximately 1 year were divided into 4 groups, each consisting of 20 animals. Bony defect was induced in the ulnas of all rabbits by excising a 1-cm-long bone segment from the 3-cm proximal segment of the right distal radioulnar joint. Bone defects were treated simultaneously with bovine-derived xenograft, a combination of xenograft and bone marrow or on the 5th day following the filling of the segment with the xenograft and autogenous bone graft. Treatment results obtained for each application type were compared with each other with regard to the radiological, biochemical and histological criteria.

Results: No significant statistical differences were determined between the groups in their 15th-day radiographs. The group treated with only xenograft from the first month onwards presented with the worst results and was significantly different from the other groups with respect to all evaluation criteria. No statistically significant difference was determined between rabbits treated with xenograft and bone marrow combination and with autogenous bone graft.

Conclusions: This study revealed that when xenografts are combined with autologous bone marrow, their incorporation into the host bed accelerates significantly.