Surgical repair of long bone defects or trauma by guided tissue engineering with composite implants of porous bioactive glass-ceramic (A-WGC) particles bound by a plaster/CaO/P2O5cement contained by a resorbable vicryl™ mesh

Abstract

One of the biggest problems associated with the repair of trauma in long bones is their requirement to withstand greater mechanical stress than any other bones of the body. After the success we achieved with composite hydroxylapatite (HA)/plaster(PP) in craniofacial bone repair in approximately 200 animals (cats and rats) and 300 humans in our laboratory, clinics and surgeries, it was felt that an area which could perhaps benefit from our experience in bone repair might be orthopedic surgery. When first informed of our desire to apply our biomaterials interest and experience to long bone trauma patients, others expected little success with these biomaterials that were so successful in craniofacial surgery.We felt, however, that success might be achieved for long bone repair with plaster of Paris (CaSO4·½H2O) and/or calcium phosphate. The feeling of my laboratory received some support from Larry Hench's 1988 article. In this article he pointed out that bioactive ceramics such as hydroxylapatite (HA) possibly could bond to bone.