Allograft in the treatment of benign cystic lesions of bone

Seventeen patients with benign cystic osseous lesions were treated by curettage and grafting using allogenic decalcified bone. Human bones were partially decalcified using 0.6 N HCl and preserved in 90% ethanol in a deep freezer at -16 degrees C. The cystic lesions were: 5 cases of fibrous dysplasia, 4 aneurysmal bone cysts, 3 simple bone cysts, 2 giant-cell tumours, 1 chondromyxoid fibroma, 1 non-ossifying fibroma and 1 fibrous cortical defect. The bones involved were: femur, tibia, humerus, fibula and calcaneum. Infection was a complication in three patients. In two of these it did not interfere with healing, but in one it persisted for more than 1 year with partial resorption of the graft. The time to adequate incorporation of the graft varied from 6 to 9 months in children and 9 to 15 months in adults. The overall response compares favourably with that to allograft from more sophisticated bone banks.