EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF FREE OMENTAL TRANSPLANT ON EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED BONE DEFECTS OF WEST AFRICAN DWARF GOATS

The effect of free omental transplant on experimentally induced bone defects was studied in West African dwarf (WAD) goats. Three WAD goats (all male) of six months of age were used for the experiment. A-four millimeter diameter bone defects were aseptically created under anaesthesia on the medial aspect of the left and the right tibia of each of the animals following a standard procedure. The right tibia of each goat was implanted with free autologous omental flap while the left tibia of each goat had no implant and served as the control. The omentectomy was done following standard procedure. The soft tissue wounds were closed routinely. The post operative radiographs of the bone defects were taken at weeks 0, 2, 6 and 10. The level of callus proliferation, mineralization and maturation of the osteoid at and around the defects were evaluated and compared in the 2 groups. The result demonstrated that the right tibias which had the omental flap transplant had superior osteogenic activity in terms of early bridging callus of greater sclerosis and also earlier incorporation of mineralized callus into the adjacent cortices which meant early remodeling.