Clinical experiences with low intensity direct current stimulation of bone growth

Low intensity direct current stimulation of bone growth involves the continuous application of cathodic currents in the nanoampere range. The technique has been applied to 13 patients with a variety of non-unions and pseudarthroses with a success rate of 77 per cent. Preliminary data indicate that a range of total energy, from 0.6 to 2.5 Joules, is maximally effective. The technique has been combined with anodic control of local bacterial infection with promising results. Both the osteogenic stimulation and the bacterial suppression techniques as described in this paper, appear to be safe and effective.