Abstract
Background The Masquelet method has become increasingly popular for the treatment of bone defects
in recent years. In this method, an induced membrane (IM) with abundant blood circulation,
stem cells, and osteogenesis-promoting factors is formed by implanting bone cement
during the first surgery. This IM stimulates bone formation in the bone defect after
implantation of the bone graft during the second surgery. However, the Masquelet method
requires two surgeries and thus a longer treatment period. In the present study, we
investigated whether bone defects could be reconstructed in a single surgery by introducing
a vascular bundle into the bone defect as an alternative to the IM, in addition to
bone grafting.
Methods Thirty-six 12-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. After creating a 5-mm
long bone defect in the femur, a mixture of autologous and artificial bone was grafted
into the defect, and a saphenous arteriovenous vascular bundle was introduced. The
animals were divided into three groups: the control group (bone defect only), the
BG group (bone grafting only), and the BG + V group (bone grafting + vascular bundle
introduction). After surgery, radiological and histological evaluations were performed
to assess osteogenesis and angiogenesis in bone defects.
Results In the BG + V group, significant bone formation was observed in the bone defect on
radiological and histological evaluations, and the amount of bone formation was significantly
higher than that in the other two groups. Furthermore, cortical bone continuity was
observed in many specimens in the BG + V group. On histological evaluation, the number
of blood vessels was also significantly higher in the BG + V group than in the other
two groups.
Conclusion Our results suggest that the introduction of a vascular bundle in addition to bone
grafting can promote bone formation in bone defects and allow for complete bone defect
reconstruction in a single surgery.
Keywords
Masquelet method - bone defect - vascular bundle - diamond concept
