Regeneration of amputated avian bone by a coral skeletal implant

Bone fractures are common in both wild and captive birds (1, 2). Avian bone s are thin and brittle and tend to break into fragments or shatter upon a v ariety of natural events (midair collisions, fights with other animals; ref 2) or anthropogenic experiences (wounding by gunfire, collisions with cars or fences, encounters with traps, attacks by dogs or cats, etc.; ref I). T he prospect of full recovery following repair of avian bone fracture is oft en pool; and the complication rate is high (3). For wild birds, anything le ss than complete normal function cannot be regarded as successful, and slig ht malunion or a change in a few degrees of rotation can produce a severe l oss of flight function (4). Furthermore, in nomadic species, time is critic al because long periods of rehabilitation may prevent the birds from reunit ing with their flocks. lit experiments with implantation of fragments of sk eleton from the coral Stylophora pistillata, we found the implants to be av ian osteo-conductive biomaterial, acting as a scaffold for a direct osteobl astic deposition. In the case study presented here, the bird regained compl ete flight activity within 2 weeks after surgery, with full regeneration of the amputated ulna.