Does free transplanted autologous cartilage grow? Until now many autors have published different results about the growth potential of cartilage. Some authors have produced in their study that transplanted cartilages were able to grow, but others showed contradicting results.
In this study, authors obtained cartilages from young rabbits´ear, 10 by 10mm in size and divided them into two groups ; the first group was cartilages with perichondrium and the second group was cartilages stripped perichondrium. We transplanted both groups of cartilages in the posterior nuchal area of rabbits. Ten numbers of specimens of each group were evaluated and compared for assessment of cartilage growth.
After observaton for six months, we took the cartilages from the posterior nuchal area and examined the surface area, the thickness, and the weight and finally confirmed the growth potential of the cartilage by histologic study.
The results are as follows
1. The surface area, the thickness, and the width of the transplanted cartilages were increased significantly in gross specimens and their measured values were statistically significant and cartilages with perichondrium showed more growth than cartilages stripped perichondrium.
2. In histologic studies, we observed increased surface activities with numerous proliferating cells and found no abnormal features compared with normal cartilages. Cartilages with pericondriumwere thicker than cartilages with stripped perichondrium
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