Growth-plate behavior in whole joint replantation in the rabbit.

We studied the behavior of the distal femoral and proximal tibial physes after whole knee-joint replantation in skeletally immature New Zealand White Rabbits. We developed an operative model in which a rabbit's knee was isolated on a vascular pedicle and was then replanted using microvascular technique. In a short-term study (three weeks or less) of ten rabbits, the patency of the vascular repairs and the resumption of metabolic activity of the cells in the growth plates were assessed. A long-term study (ninety days) of eight rabbits was designed to monitor growth after replantation. The results indicated that in rabbits, the femoral and tibial growth plates could be removed and returned to place during whole-joint replantation. If the blood supply was successfully re-established, metabolic function of the cells in the physes remained normal during the early postoperative period, and at ninety days (near the time of skeletal maturity) bone growth in the limb that was operated on was about equal to that of the opposite limb which was not operated on.