Nonprocessed Adipose Tissue Graft in the Treatment of Peri-Implant Osseous Defects in the Rabbit's Tibiae: A Pilot Study
We hypothesized that a new technique using nonprocessed adipose tissue could regenerate bone around dental implants. Eighteen rabbits received 1 implant per tibia surrounded by a surgically created osseous defect. The defects were assigned for treatment into 3 groups: C, AT, and AB. The percentages of bone-to-implant contact were 17.64% ± 16.22% (AB), 3.54% ± 7.08% (AT), and 12.71% ± 10.11% (C) (ρ = 0.25). The use of adipose tissue around surgically created peri-implant osseous defects interferes with bone formation.
Figure 1. Implant placed in position and surrounded by the bone defect. Figure 2. Harvesting fat tissue with surgical scissors and forceps from the dorsum of the rabbit near to the base of the skull. Figure 3. Adipose tissue being placed inside the gap around the implant.
Figure 6. Photomicrographs representative of group AB showing the cortical and cancellous bone contact with the implant surface (red arrows). The letters a, b, and c represent, respectively, the cortical bone, cancellous bone, and the implant. Figure 7. Photomicrographs of group AT demonstrating the lack of cortical or cancellous bone in contact with the implant surface. The letters a, b, and c represent, respectively, the implant, the cortical bone, and the bone marrow bone. Figure 8. Photomicrographs representing group C showing the cortical bone in contact with the implant surface (red arrows). The letters a and b represent the cortical bone and the implant, respectively.
Group AT photograph showing a removed part of the rabbit's tibia, prior to histological processing.
Figure 4. Schematic illustration of the linear measurement of bone-to-implant contact (BIC). The contact between bone and implant was measured linearly from the most coronal part of the implant until the end of the second thread (on both sides of each implant). The letter A represents this linear measurement. Figure 5. Scatter plot chart showing the average distribution of samples per group for BIC, with the appropriate standard deviations.
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