[Biology of micro-vascularized cartilaginous transplantation in the growing dog]

Epiphyseal bone transplantations including growth area have been extensively studied experimentally in different animals and applied in children for several decades. Results were unpredictable and the amount of growth obtained with the graft could get 50 per cent of the normal. Development of microsurgical techniques has determined new possibilities of epiphyseal transfer with the respect of the epiphyseal vascularization. Growth plate germinal cell division is directly related to the epiphyseal vascular respect. In a large multifacetted program we could successively determine the vascular patterns of the donor site areas and then utilized different grafts in some experimental situations reproducing the clinical pathology in children, like hip dysplasia or epiphyseal defects after resection for tumor or infection. Results demonstrate that the main problem, in epiphyseal transplantation, is not vascular but mechanical. Further studies have to be done in this direction.