Guided bone regeneration using osteopatite granules and polytetrafluoroethylene membranes.

Granules of a modified hydroxyapatite, Osteopatite, were implanted in the right posterior tibiae of adult rabbits. We studied the extent of bone regeneration in bone holes. In the right tibiae, that were filled with granules of this biomaterial covered with a polytetrafluoro-ethylene (PTFE) membrane using, as a control, uncovered granules. In the left tibia, an empty hole was covered with PTFE membrane and a second hole was left empty to be used as a control. A histomorphometric study was carried out using light microscopy, four and eight weeks after the surgery. The covered granules presented a higher percentage of bone contact than the uncovered ones, and it was also possible to observe a better bone tissue organization, mainly produced by the immobilization action of the PTFE membrane. Empty bone defects covered with PTFE membranes, two months after implantation, presented large areas of Haversian bone and direct bone contact to the PTFE membrane.