Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026
Calvarial Model of Bone Augmentation in Rabbit for Assessment of Bone Growth and Neovascularization in Bone Substitution Materials
Published on: August 13, 2019
Comparative study of 5 different membranes for guided bone regeneration of rabbit mandibular defects beyond critical
Vasilis Thomaidis1, Kostas Kazakos, Dimitris N Lyras
1Clinic of Maxillofacial Surgery, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
Background:
Although several studies have examined use of collagen membranes in guided bone regeneration (GBR), none has examined the use of human fascia temporalis as a bioabsorbable barrier. The majority of studies related to GBR have examined critical size defects. We sought to assess the human fascia temporalis and other well-documented membranes applied for GBR in mandibular osseous defects beyond critical size.
Material/Methods:
Fifty adult male New Zealand white rabbits were used in this study. Five groups of 10 animals each were used: HFL (human fascia lata membrane), HP (human pericardium), HFT (human fascia temporalis), BP (bovine pericardium), and PTFE (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene). Animals were killed 10 weeks after membrane application. In each animal, 9-mm circular mandibular defects were created bilaterally. On 1 side of the jaw, the defect was covered with 1 of the test membranes; the defect on the other side served as a control. Harvested specimens were examined histologically.
Results:
Membranes were significantly superior to the controls in all animals (P<0.001). Paired comparisons showed that groups HFL, HP, BP, and PTFE were significantly superior to HFT (P<0.05). Conversely, comparisons of HFL-HP, HFL-BP, HFL-PTFE, HP-BP, HP-PTFE, and BP-PTFE, showed no significant differences (P>0.05).
Conclusions:
According to our results, the fascia temporalis is not recommended for GBR techniques. The fascia lata, human pericardium, bovine pericardium, and e-PTFE advance bone regeneration and can be successfully used as GBR membranes for osseous defects beyond the critical size.
