(Open access funding provided by Semmelweis University)
We have previously reported that serum albumin-coated bone allograft (BoneAlbumin,
BA) is an effective bone substitute. It improves bone regeneration at the patellar
and tibial donor sites six months after harvesting bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB)
autografts for primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). In the present
study, we examined these donor sites seven years after implantation. The study group
(N = 10) received BA-enhanced autologous cancellous bone at the tibial and BA alone
at the patellar site. The control group (N = 16) received autologous cancellous bone
at the tibial and blood clot at the patellar site. We evaluated subcortical density,
cortical thickness, and bone defect volume via CT scans. At the patellar site, subcortical
density was significantly higher in the BA group at both time points. There was no
significant difference in cortical thickness between the two groups at either donor
site. The control group’s bone defect significantly improved and reached the BA group’s
values at both sites by year seven. Meanwhile, the bone defects in the BA group did
not change significantly and were comparable to the six-month measurements. No complications
were observed. There are two limitations in this study: The number of patients recruited
is small, and the randomization of the patients could have improved the quality of
the study as the control group patients were older compared to the study group patients.
Our 7-year results seem to demonstrate that BA is a safe and effective bone substitute
that supports faster regeneration of donor sites and results in good-quality bone
tissue at the time of ACLR with BPTB autografts. However, studies with a larger number
of patients are required to definitively confirm the preliminary results of our study.
