Irradiation has no effect on the incorporation of impacted morselized bone: a bone chamber study in goats.
BACKGROUND
Gamma irradiation has been widely used for sterilization of bone allografts. However, gamma irradiation alters proteins. This is favorable when it reduces immunogenicity, but is undesirable when osteoinductive proteins are damaged. Although the effect of gamma irradiation on BMPs has been studied, the effect of irradiation on the process of incorporation of morselized bone chips remains unclear. We studied the effects of sterilization by gamma irradiation on the incorporation of impacted morselized allografts.


METHODS
Bone chambers with impacted allografts, rinsed impacted allografts, allografts that were rinsed and subsequently irradiated, and an empty control were implanted in proximal medial tibiae of goats. Incorporation was evaluated using histology and histomorphometry.


RESULTS
Histology revealed evidence of bone graft incorporation, which proceeded in a similar way in unprocessed, rinsed, and both rinsed and irradiated bone grafts. After 12 weeks, no difference in bone and tissue ingrowth was found between the unprocessed, the rinsed, and the rinsed and subsequently irradiated allografts. The amount of unresorbed graft remnant was highest in the unprocessed bone grafts.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that sterilization with gamma irradiation does not influence the incorporation of impacted rinsed bone allografts.
Hannink
Gerjon
G
Orthopaedic Research Lab, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, P.O. Box 9101, Nijmegen, HB 6500, the Netherlands.
Schreurs
B Willem
BW
Buma
Pieter
P
D000818:Animals; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000166:cytology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D015194:Diffusion Chambers, Culture; D005260:Female; D005720:Gamma Rays; D006041:Goats; D006801:Humans; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013249:Sternum / Q000166:cytology / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000637:transplantation; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous