The aims of this study were to evaluate the comparative osteoconductivity of three commercially available bone void fillers containing gentamicin with respect to new bone growth, host tissue response and resorption of the implant material. Bone defects (13mmx 10mm) were created in distal femur and proximal tibia of 12 skeletally mature sheep and filled with either Stimulan-G, Cerament-G or Herafill-G. Defects in the control animals were assigned positive and negative controls. In the case of the negative controls, the defect remained unfilled. For the positive controls, defects were filled with genex. No adverse reactions were noted at harvest at any time points for any cancellous implantation sites with the various implant materials. Three-dimensional analysis indicated that the sites implanted with the control genex material demonstrated the greatest increase in both bone volume and surface area. Comparative microCT analysis of the Stimulan-G, Cerament-G and Herafill-G test materials revealed a similar increase in bone surface area and volume between animals implanted with Stimulan-G or Cerament-G test materials. Herafill-G test materials demonstrated the lowest increases in bone volume and surface area of the test materials tested, at levels similar to the negative control animals in which the defect remained unfilled. By 12-weeks, Stimulan-G defects were completely closed with mature bone and bone marrow whilst the Cerament-G and Herafill-G materials were still present after 12 weeks by histological examination. This study demonstrates differences in the bone regenerative capacity of a range of bone void fillers in an
in vivo setting. The abstract can be read, and the full paper can be obtained
here 