Novel Synthetic Bone Replacement

A synthetic, resorbable, highly porous bone filler allows for the flow of marrow, blood, and nutrients required for bone growth and remodeling and promotes healing. Called Vitoss, the bone product is composed of nanometer-sized calcium phosphate particles with 90% interconnecting porosity and is available as a scaffold matrix both in morsel and block forms.

Studies show that Vitoss rapidly healed critical-sized defects in canines. Bone healing throughout the defect site was concurrent with evidence of cell-mediated resorption of Vitoss at all time points. Histologically and radiographically, the newly formed bone within the defect sites was virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding undisturbed bone at followups made 12, 24, and 52 weeks later. At 52 weeks, 95% of the Vitoss implant had been resorbed and was replaced by healthy viable bone. This data was presented at the EuroSpine 2000 meeting in Antwerp (Belgium).

Grafts using a patient's own bone require additional surgery to retrieve the graft. Vitoss does not require this. Also, there are limits to the size of a bone defect that can be repaired when using a graft from the patient. Because Vitoss is synthetic, it eliminates concerns about product availability, purity, or potential for rejection that may be associated with the use of bone repair materials developed from cadaverous bone. Vitoss is the product of Orthovita, Inc. (Malvern, PA, USA).

"Using this new synthetic bone product can reduce the morbidity linked to autograft harvest and the infection risk associated with bank bone allografts,” noted Marek Szpalski, M.D., a senior consultant at the Centre Hospitalier Moliere Longchamp in Brussels (Belgium). "From our experience, Vitoss most closely resembles autologous bone, the current gold standard in orthopedic surgery.”