Autogenous Bone Graft With or Without Perforation of the Receptor Bed: Histologic Study in Rabbit Calvaria

Purpose: To evaluate the amount of bone matrix in autogenous block bone grafts that were fixed with or without perforation of the receptor bed. Materials and Methods: Twelve rabbits received two 5-mm circular osteotomies each in the anterior parietal region. The bone was removed, perforated, and fixed by a titanium screw in the adjacent area, 3 mm from the border of the osteotomies. On the contralateral side, six perforations were made in the receptor site before the graft was fixated by the titanium screw. After 28 days, the animals were sacrificed and specimens were prepared for histologic study. Sections were analyzed with regard to the total area of the graft and the percentages of bone matrix in the graft, interface, and receptor bed. Analyses using the Wilcoxon test (P .05) were performed. Results: No statistically significant differences were found between the groups with or without perforations to the area of the graft (P = .85) or the percentage of hard tissue in the grafts (P = .53), the interface (P = .65), or the receptor bed (P = .18). Conclusion: Based upon this study that used a rabbit model with bone grafts placed in the parietal regions, cortical perforations of the receptor bone did not improve repair of bone grafts and did not increase the amount of bone matrix in the final grafted area. Keywords: animal study, cortical bone perforation, experimental study, histologic analyses