In order to study the whole and concentrated bone marrow grafted percutaneously in order to repair produced osseous defects, it was used 16 male White New Zealand rabbits, aged between 5 and 6 months, average body weight of 3.5kg, set apart in groups I and II. In both groups it was produced a radial bilateral defects by the removal of an 1-cm osteal-periosteal segment. Percutaneous grafting was performed 5 days after surgery. In group I, each animal received 1.0ml of whole bone marrow in one radius (treatment) immediately after iliac crest aspiration and in group II, after aspiration and centrifuging of 2.0ml of bone marrow, it was administrated 1.0ml of the sediment in one radius (treatment). In both groups it was administered 1.0ml of physiological saline solution in the contralateral radius (control). Radiographic evaluation, performed every 7 days for 5 weeks, showed that percutaneous bone marrow grafting resulted in precocious radiopacity of the region of the osseous defect in both groups when comparing to the control, being characterized by circumscribed and well defined areas in the middle of the defect. Bone formation of the control radii initiated from the extremities in direction to the middle of the defect. Concentration of medullary cells by centrifuging does not negatively interfere in the osteogenic potential of the sample. This osteogenic potential of the bone marrow graft occurs mostly after the first and second weeks post-grafting, which was evidenced by the difference of radiographic images in this period and tendency to uniformity. Microscopically, the grafted radii were in a different repair stage in relation to the control, but at 5 weeks there were more histological similarities than differences.
bone surgery; bone graft; bone repair
