Ultrastructural study of the osteointegration of bioceramics (whitlockite and composite beta-TCP + collagen) in rabbit bone.

Study examines the osteointegration of two porous ceramic implants, beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) and a composite (beta-TCP-collagen), in femur and tibias of 20 New Zealand white rabbits, which were sacrificed 1 week and 1, 4, and 12 months postimplant so that radiological, optical microscopic, and ultrastructural studies could be carried out. The results show a progressive degradation and resorption of both implant materials by means of a macrophagic reaction, which is at its most intense 1 month postimplant. The materials are substituted by newly formed bone tissue starting at the host bone-implant interface, the substitution being almost total by the end of the study, although less completely and earlier than in the case of the composite. Both materials can be considered as potential substitutes for bone tissue since they are biocompatible, bioreabsorbable, and osteogenic.