Abstract
1. Experimental evidence suggests that the autogenous graft exhibits some advantage over refrigerated homogenous grafts in that healing takes place more rapidly but that in the end the results are the same.
2. Histological study of fragments of healing grafts, both autogenous and refrigerated, that have been removed from human hosts shows no significant difference in the rate or method of repair.
3. Study of the clinical results of the use of homogenous transplants in 307 operations shows the bone to be well tolerated. The rate of infection in clean cases was 2·6 per cent; loss of bone occurred in only two cases.
4. Follow-up studies of 248 cases showed successful results obtained in 210, or 85 per cent. These are comparable with the results obtained with autogenous grafts. The healing of cancellous transplants takes place more rapidly than with cortical grafts. Transplants that have been preserved for more than one year do not heal as well as those that have been preserved for a shorter period and the failure rate is higher.
5. The operation of a bone bank is safe and practical. It offers great advantages to the patient and the surgeon from the standpoint of availability, abundance and the elimination of the necessity of secondary operations to obtain bone. When a bone bank is available the number of operations in which bone transplants are used will show a sharp increase.
