Bone grafts.

Bone grafting provides a method of enhancing bone healing in veterinary orthopedic patients. Specifically, autogenous cancellous bone graft provides the cellular components and matrix proteins that can accelerate bone healing, dramatically. Allografts provide immediate mechanical support for fracture repair and patient function, but these grafts do not create the osteogenic environment seen with the use of autogenous cancellous bone graft. Xenograft bone implants may also hold a place for use in fracture management. With the advent of recombinant bone-derived tissue growth factor technology, bone grafting may some day become a practiced technique of the past. For now, however, bone grafting still holds a strong place in orthopedic surgery when dealing with bone defects in animals.