HISTOLOGICAL AND ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF TISSUE-RESPONSE TO SYNTHETIC COMPOSITE BONE-GRAFT IN THE CANINE

A synthetic composite bone graft material, composed of fibrillar colla gen, hydroxyapatite, and tricalcium phosphate, was evaluated in canine femoral shaft defects and compared to ungrafted defects and defects g rafted with autogenous bone. The results of mechanical testing of the grafted femora in torsion at 1 year postoperatively mere previously re ported, This report details the histological and microscopic features of the graft sites, The results of this study suggest that the healing of the graft site is not yet complete at 1 year and that healing may be more complete in defects that received the synthetic graft as compa red to ungrafted sites and autogenous bone graft, The bone tissue appe ars to respond to the graft particles as if they were bone particles. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.