Background: Non-union of long bones is still a current problem in traumatology. Although corticocancellous bone autograft remains the usual procedure for the treatment of non-union, innovative therapies such as, percutaneous autologous concentrated bone marrow grafting (PABMG), are now appearing.
Material and methods: Over a period of 8 years, 45 non-union of long bones were treated by PABMG in the Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatologic Surgery (University Hospital of Nancy, France): 26 tibiae, 16 femurs, 3 humeri. Efficiency was evaluated by clinical criteria: full weight-bearing without pain, absence of motion at non-union site, and radiological criteria: healing of 3 corticales out of 4.
Results: Eighteen out of 28 non-unions at the tibia were healed (69%), 10 at the femur (63%), but none was noticed at the humerus. Some pejorative prognosis factors were noted such as: tobacco, alcohol abuse, diabetes and history of infection at the fracture site. An earlier grafting improved the success rate. The number of CFU-F (Colony Forming Unit Fibroblastic) affected the healing time more than the healing rate.
Conclusion: The procedure, even though a little invasive, enables the healing of non-union in two out of three cases with less morbidity than conventional procedures. This procedure fits perfectly into the therapeutic arsenal of non-union.
Keywords: Non-union; bone healing; bone marrow; bone marrow grafting; cell therapy; mesenchymal stem cells.