Abstract

A prospective study was performed on 34 patients to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a composite bone substitute formed of hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate (Ceraform®) with or without gentamycin sulphate (Ceraform-Genta®) plus autogenous bone marrow aspirate in the treatment of cavitary bone defects related with benign bone lesions. At the end of the follow-up period, all patients were evaluated clinically for pain and a daily living activity score, and radiologically regarding the time and quality of bone healing, using a modified Neer grading system. Satisfactory clinical outcome without pain or impairment of daily living activities was seen in 97.1% of patients. Radiologically, 70.6% of the lesions were completely healed and 26.5% showed partial healing ; one patient had local recurrence according to the modified Neer grading system. The average time to healing was 19.9 weeks and all reported complications were minor, unrelated to the composite graft itself, and did not affect the functional outcome. The composite ceramic used in this study proved to be a safe and effective bone graft substitute ; its use appeared at least as effective as other treatment modalities for benign bone lesions.