Experimental Repair of Rabbit Segmental Bone Defects by Using Autologous Bone Marrow and Electrical Stimulation

Objective: In this study, we have aimed to investigate the potential role of autologous bone marrow cell injection and muscular electrical stimulation as a separate and concomitant application on bone healing in experimental rabbit ulnar segmental bone defect model. Material and Methods: Forty New-Zealand rabbits, all over three months of age and weighing between 2500 and 3500 grams were divided into four groups. Four groups of rabbits were the control group (I), electrical stimulation group (II), bone marrow cells injection group (III) and bone marrow cells injection with electrical stimulation group (IV). Bone defect healing was evaluated radiologically according to the modified Lane and Sandhu scoring system and at the end of the sixth week, rabbits were sacrificed and their forearms were sampled for histopathological investigation. Results: When one-to-one comparison between all groups was performed, defect healing was found to be better in Groups II, III, and IV compared to Group I based on the radiological and histopathological parameters evaluated. This evaluation revealed that the healing was better in groups treated with bone marrow cell injection with or without electrical stimulation as well as in group treated with electrical stimulation compared to the control group with no treatment. Conclusion: Autologous bone marrow cells with or without electrical stimulation, would be used in healing of segmental bone defect with an adequate efficacy. Future stem cell studies combined with electrical current are required to demonstrate and to confirm that electrical current enhances in vivo cellular differentiation.