What is bone grafting?
This surgical procedure promotes your body’s natural bone-making process by:
- Applying substances to gaps in weak, broken or deficient bones for added support.
- Stimulating tissue growth to bridge gaps and restore bone strength and rigidit
Overview
What is bone grafting?
This surgical procedure promotes your body’s natural bone-making process by:
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- Applying substances to gaps in weak, broken or deficient bones for added support.
- Stimulating tissue growth to bridge gaps and restore bone strength and rigidity.
Who needs a bone graft?
This procedure may be necessary if bones don't heal correctly after a fracture. You may experience:
- Delayed union: Bone healing (fusion) that occurs more slowly than expected.
- Malunion: Bones that heal in an abnormal position.
- Nonunion: When bone fusion does not occur.
Other reasons for a bone graft include:
- Bone diseases like osteonecrosis and cancer.
- Bone infection (osteomyelitis).
- Congenital anomalies, such as uneven limbs or an abnormally small chin.
- Jaw reinforcement (dental bone graft) before receiving a tooth implant.
- Joint replacement surgery, which may require bone growth to secure an artificial joint.
- Spinal fusion.
- Trauma, including bad fractures that shatter bones.
Treatment Details
What type of bone graft might I need?
There are several bone grafting methods, including:
- Allograft: This method uses bone tissue from another person (donor). Public health services have strict regulations on how tissues are handled and the bone tissue is cleaned and processed (sterilized) to ensure the safety of the recipient. This type of graft is common in spinal fusion surgery. It provides a framework around which healthy bone tissue can grow.
- Autograft: An autograft uses a sample of your bone tissue. The tissue typically comes from the top of your hip bone (iliac crest). The surgeon makes an incision to obtain the bone tissue. The benefit of using your own tissue is that it increases the chances of successful fusion, but the amount of bone tissue that can be collected is limited. Additionally, you may have pain at the site where the bone graft is collected.
- Bone marrow aspirate: Marrow is the spongy substance inside bones. It contains stem and progenitor cells that can help bone fractures heal. Using a needle, the surgeon gets a bone marrow sample from the hip bone (iliac crest). This bone marrow aspirate is used alone or mixed with other bone grafts to enhance bone healing for allograft procedures.
- Synthetic bone graft: This type of graft uses artificially produced materials made from a variety of porous substances. Some also contain proteins that support bone development.
What happens during a bone grafting procedure?
During bone grafting surgery, here’s what to expect:
- You receive anesthesia, medication that puts you to sleep and temporarily blocks sensation.
- The surgeon makes an incision into the skin to access the bone that needs grafting.
- They clean the bone and remove diseased tissue to prepare it for the graft.
- The graft is applied and secured in place using different surgical techniques that might include hardware, such as plates or screws.
- The surgeon uses stitches to close the incision.
