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A Modified Rabbit Ulna Defect Model for Evaluating Periosteal Substitutes in Bone Engineering: A Pilot Study
The present work defines a modified critical size rabbit ulna defect model for bone regeneration in which a non-resorbable barrier membrane was used to separate the radius from
the ulna to create a valid model for evaluation of tissue-engineered periosteal substitutes.
Eight rabbits divided into two groups were used. Critical defects (15 mm) were made
in the ulna completely eliminating periosteum. For group I, defects were filled with a
nanohydroxyapatite poly(ester urethane) scaffold soaked in PBS and left as such (group
Ia) or wrapped with a tissue-engineered periosteal substitute (group Ib). For group II, an
expanded-polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) (GORE-TEX\uae) membrane was inserted around
the radius then the defects received either scaffold alone (group IIa) or scaffold wrapped
with periosteal substitute (group IIb). Animals were euthanized after 12\u201316 weeks, and
bone regeneration was evaluated by radiography, computed microtomography (\ub5CT), and
histology. In the first group, we observed formation of radio-ulnar synostosis irrespective
of the treatment. This was completely eliminated upon placement of the e-PTFE (GORETEX\uae) membrane in the second group of animals. In conclusion, modification of the model
using a non-resorbable e-PTFE membrane to isolate the ulna from the radius was a valuable
addition allowing for objective evaluation of the tissue-engineered periosteal substitut