Role of Equine Xenograft in Bone Defect Reconstruction: A Case Series

Abstract Background: The need for bone graft substitutes is acutely felt in managing large expansile benign lytic lesions of the bone, bone defect reconstruction in revision arthroplasty and bone stock reconstitution in osteoporotic periarticular fractures. Alternative options as of today are cadaveric allograft, synthetic bone graft and xenografts. Processed freeze dried equine bone graft in the form of blocks, discs, cylinders and complete femoral head are available for void filling and have been used by a few centres. We studied its use in different clinical case scenario. Methods: We prospectively enrolled all cases of bone defect reconstitution where equine freeze dried xenograft with or without autograft and or BMP (Bone Morphogenetic Proteins) was used. Five cases of benign cystic lesion, two cases of cominutted periarticular fracture and one case of hip revision Arthroplasty were enrolled from 2021 to 2024. We followed them up from 2 - 5 yrs for defect reconstitution and clinical recovery. Also recorded any complications and readmissions. Results: We found that at an average of 24 months in all cases there was good to excellent clinical recovery with radiological reconstitution of bone defect. Conclusion: Freeze dried off the shelf equine xenograft which is available in various shapes and form (Cortical, cortico-cancellous and pure cancellous) is an excellent option in bone defect reconstitution and when mixed with BMP or autograft provides all desirable qualities of a bone graft (osteoconductive, osteoinductive and osteogenic.