Fractures of the tibial shaft are likely to result in delayed union or non-union; 10-30% of these fractures will not heal properly and are commonly treated with autologous bone grafting. BMP-7 is a recombinant bone growth factor that can be applied locally as an alternative or in addition to autologous bone grafting, and this study aimed to compare the efficiency of the two procedures. From January 1995 to December 2002, 82 people with delayed union of a tibial fracture at least 4 months after primary stabilisation underwent autologous bone grafting. Successful healing was defined as radiological bony consolidation. Between May 2002 and June 2005, 26 similar cases were treated after the failure of the graft with local implantation of BMP-7, and were followed up for at least 1 year. Of the 82 people receiving autologous bone grafts only, 24 (28%) still had no signs of consolidation after 4 months and required revision surgery. Of the 26 people with BMP-7 implantation after failed graft, bony consolidation was seen after 4 months in 24 cases and only 2 (8%) required revision surgery. The BMP-7 group, although including more complicated cases, showed a significantly higher (p = 0.025) success rate compared with the group that did not receive BMP-7.
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