Role of osteopromotion in experimental bone grafting to the skull: a study in adult rats using a membrane technique.

This study explores the effect of an osteopromotive membrane technique in a mature animal model on the survival of membranous and endochondral bone inlays in mandibular defects and membranous bone onlays on the calvarial roof. Twenty-eight adult male rats received fibular or mandibular inlay bone grafts to trephine defects in the mandibular angle, as well as mandibular disc onlay grafts to the parietal and frontal bone regions. The results were assessed by gross inspection and light microscopy after 12 weeks. Membrane use markedly promoted bone deposition in the defects. The membranous bone inlays showed complete incorporation to the margins of the defect, whereas the endochondral grafts at all times were covered by a thin fibrous capsule and failed to incorporate. Onlay grafts generally resorbed substantially, but the grafts covered by a membrane seemed more active, developed an increased cancellous component, and showed less pronounced volumetric loss. The findings confirm the fact that a biological difference exists between membranous and endochondral bone. They also confirm the osteopromotive effect of the membrane technique, and suggest that the amount of bone needed for transplantation can be reduced using this method.