Journal section: Biomaterials and bioengineering in Dentistry Publication Types: Research Fragmented Adipose Tissue Graft for Bone Healing: Histological and Histometric Study in Rabbits ’ Calvaria

Objective The adipose tissue represents an important reservoir of stem cells. There are few studies in the literature with which to histologically evaluate whether or not the adipose tissue graft is really a safe option to achieve bone repair. This study histologically analyzed the effect of fragmented autogenous adipose tissue grafts on bone heal-ing in surgically created, critical-size defects (CSD) in a rabbit’s calvaria. Study design Forty-two New Zealand rabbits were used in this study. CSD that were 15 mm in diameter were cre-ated in the calvarium of each animal. The defects were randomly divided into two groups: in Group C (control), the defect was filled only by a blood clot and, in Group FAT (i.e., fragmented adipose tissue), the defect was filled with fragmented autogenous adipose tissue grafts. The groups were divided into subgroups (n = 7) for euthanasia at 7, 15, and 40 days after the procedure had been conducted. Histologic and histometric analyses were performed. Data were statistically analysed with ANOVA and Tukey’s tests (p < 0.05). Results The amount of bone formation did not show statistically significant differences seven days after the operation, which indicates that the groups had similar amounts of mineral deposition in the earlier period of the repair. Conversely