OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of systemic osteogenic response caused by remote stimulation of bone marrow in a bone gap union. METHOD: 36 young adult rabbits were employed. The animals were randomly divided into 3 groups (A, B, C) and submitted to ostectomy of the right radius, removing 4mm of bone. The animals on Group A had their bone marrow stimulated by ablation on the left femur. Animals on Group B had their bone marrow stimulated by introducing a 1.5mm-thick Kirschner wire into the shaft of the left femur. The animals on Group C served as controls. X-ray images were taken on a weekly basis until the 4th post-surgical week, when the animals were sacrificed. Histomorphometric study of the bony callus formed at the ostectomy site was conducted. The x-ray images were evaluated in order to analyze the evolution of bone union at the ostectomy site. RESULTS: The groups with remote bone marrow stimulation had a smaller number of bone cells as compared to the control group. On radiographic studies, no difference in terms of evolution of union was evident between the groups. CONCLUSION: Remote stimulation of bone marrow had an unfavorable influence on bone gap union in rabbits.
Rabbits; Bone marrow; Fracture healing; Bony callus
