The treatment of nonunion and delayed union of middle and distal tibial fractures by percutaneous autologous red bone marrow transplantation

Objective To study the effect of percutaneous autologous red bone marrow transplantation for the nonunion and delayed union of middle and distal tibial fractures.Methods 23 cases were enrolled,of which 18 cases were delayed union and 5 cases were nonunion.The autologous red marrow was injected into the site of the nonunion or delayed union.Every case had the X-ray follow-up regularly.Results 23 cases all got union in 3～12 months.No complication such as malunion,heterotopic ossification or infection was found.Conclusions Autologous red bone marrow transplantation is an effective,safe,simple and practical method for nonunion or delayed union of middle and distal tibial fractures.