An experimental study was conducted aiming to evaluate the influence of bone decortication for autologous bone graft integration. Fifteen undefined-race adult dogs of both genders, supplied by the General Animal Lab of the Medical School, University of São Paulo, in Ribeirão Preto, were used. The first lumbar vertebra was selected for study purposes, with surface decortication of the vertebral layer through the right side. Bone grafts removed from L1 and adjacent vertebrae's spinous processes were bilaterally apposed on the L1 layer. The animals were divided into experimental groups according to the period of sacrifice (1 month, 3 months, and 6 months), with each group comprising 5 animals. Histological evaluation by means of microscopy was the method employed in the study, and it has shown differences in bone graft incorporation between decorticated and non-decorticated surfaces of the vertebral layer. Those differences were seen on animals sacrificed within 1 month and 3 months postoperatively, with a stronger bone integration seen at the place where the vertebral layer was decorticated. Within 6 months postoperatively, no differences were seen among vertebral layers' surfaces (decorticated and non-decorticated), with full bone repair on both surfaces.
Athrodesis; Bone graft; Spine
