Histopathological evaluation of the osteogenic activity of autologous platelet-rich plasma in experimentally induced ulna defect in dogs

Variety of products and surgical approaches to stimulate biologic factors and promote osteogenesis have been developed over the years, but surgeons still face challenges relating to bone healing. This study was designed to evaluate the histopathologic effects of autologous platelet-rich plasma and cancellous bone grafts on caudolateral ulna ostectomy of Nigerian local dogs. Twelve healthy Nigerian indigenous dogs (males) were used for the study. They were randomly grouped into four viz: platelet-rich plasma-treated group (PRPG) (n = 3), cancellous bone graft-treated group (CBG) (n = 3), platelet-rich plasma/cancellous bone graft-treated group (PRP/CBG) (n = 3), and normal saline-treated control group (CG) (n = 3). Caudolateral ulna defects were created on the left ulna of each dog under general anesthesia and treated as follows: the PRPG were treated by application of autologous PRP on the defects prior to closure, the PRP/CBG defects were treated by applying both PRP and cancellous bone grafts on the defects, and CBG was treated with autologous cancellous bone grafts alone while the control defects were treated by applying normal saline on the defects prior to closure of the soft tissues. Animals were euthanized at week 10 and the bridging callus of the defects analyzed by histopathology. The PRP defects either in combination with cancellous bone grafts or alone demonstrated more matured lamella bone compared to the CBG and control defects. The control defects were characterized with fibrocartillagenous zones of intense cellular activities mainly of chondroblasts and oeteoblasts. The mean histologic indices of the PRPG and PRP/CBG defects varied significantly (p < 0.05) with the CBG and the control defects. The results showed that the PRP has a positive osteogenic effect in treatment of caudolateral ulna ostectomies of dogs but its activity was optimal when combined with autologous cancellous bone grafts.