Grafting long bone fractures with demineralized bone matrix putty enriched with bone marrow: Pilot findings

In this pilot study, the preliminary effectiveness of a composite graft consisting of demineralized bone matrix (DBM) putty (Grafton DBM) and aspirated bone marrow was evaluated for treating long bone fractures. Patients were assigned randomly to treatment with the DBM putty composite (n=10) or iliac crest autograft (n=8), and had a minimum of 12 months of radiographic follow-up. Ninety percent of DBM patients (9/10) achieved full bone formation compared to 75% of autograft patients (6/8) (P=.41). Additionally, all 10 DBM patients were healed compared with 63% of autograft patients (5/8) (P=.07). These findings suggest that DBM putty enriched with bone marrow may be comparable to autograft for treating long bone fractures.