Healing of freeze-treated hemimaxillary bone.

Earlier studies suggested that the combined techniques of excision, freezing, and reimplantation of mandibular bone may provide a new method for the treatment of intraoral bone tumors. An experiment was conducted to investigate the bone healing and revascularization associated with resected, frozen, and reimplanted maxillary bone. In all the FT and NFT hemimaxillas evaluated, complete reconstitution occurred. The degree of revascularization was similar in both FT and NFT monkeys, suggesting that freezing does not adversely effect subsequent revascularization. Compared to the sham operated sides, both FT and NFT hemimaxillas showed a high degree of revascularization; this phenomenon was greatest at six weeks postoperatively. Microscopically, in all the animals, periosteal osteoblastic activity was present in variable amounts. The interstitial tissue was predominantly fibrous rather than fatty marrow, and no detectable differences were noticed between FT and NFT animals in the same time interval.