M. Arakaki et al., ONLAY SILICONE AND HYDROXYAPATITE-TRICALCIUMPHOSPHATE COMPOSITE (HAP-TCP) BLOCKS INTERFERE WITH NASAL BONE-GROWTH IN RABBITS, The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal, 32(4), 1995, pp. 282-289
We investigated how a new type of synthetic porous hydroxyapatite cera
mic (HAP-TCP) acts when it is implanted in growing membranous bone, Se
venty-six New Zealand White infant male rabbits (I-week-olds) were use
d, Rabbits received HAP-TCP block or silicone block implantation in th
eir right nasal bone, The left nasal bone was used for a sham, Serial
or cross-sectional examinations by morphometry, radiology, blood bioch
emistry, and histology were carried out, Both the HAP-TCP and silicone
groups exhibited no systemic growth disturbance in terms of morphomet
ry and blood biochemistry. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) rev
ealed, however, a decrease in the bone mineral content (BMC) of the ri
ght nasal bone in the silicone group, Histology revealed a superior af
finity of HAP-TCP to bone tissue than that of silicone, When a HAP-TCP
block was implanted under the periosteum it bonded directly to bone t
issue, However, sinking of the implants into the bone tissue were note
d both in the HAP-TCP and the silicone groups in longitudinal observat
ion, These results suggest that although HAP-TCP has superior affinity
to bone tissue, this by itself is not enough sufficient reason to bel
ieve that HAP-TCP can be effectively applied during the growth period.