Quantitative assessment of early healing of intramembranous and endochondral autogenous bone grafts using...

Micro-computed tomography (microCT) is a new tool to image and quantify trabecular bone. The aim of this study is to compare the two measurement methods when evaluating the early healing of intramembranous (IM) and endochondral (EC) autogenous bone grafts using micro-computed tomography and Q-win computer image analyzer. Twelve critical size (15 mm x 10 mm) defects were created in rabbit mandibles bilaterally. Six defects were grafted with autogenous EC bone; six defects were grafted with autogenous IM bone. Three weeks post-surgery, the defects were retrieved for microCT imaging analysis and histological evaluation. Results showed a significant correlation (r = 0.96, P < 0.0001) between microCT and Q-win in measuring the volume of new bone and graft bone in the mandibular defects after 3 weeks of early healing. There were distinct differences between IM bone and EC bone grafts in 2D and 3D features of graft bone maintenance as well as new bone formation. MicroCT imaging is a non-destructive, fast and precise procedure that allows for quantitative evaluation of the early healing of IM and EC autogenous bone grafts in membranous bone defects.