Drillholes of 8 mm diameter were made through the epiphyseal cartilage of the distal femora in 20 6-week-old Göttingen minipigs. The defects were filled with autologous or with homologous cartilage. This was intended to prevent epi-metaphyseal osseous bridge formation. If of appropriate size and location, the latter would lead to subsequent misgrowth. In group A (autologous costal cartilage), at all drillholes the transplanted costal cartilage can prevent ossification of the defect. An epiphyseal boundary lamella was formed over the transplant which precluded penetration of vessels into the defect. In group B (homologous costal cartilage), the transplanted costal cartilage showed a tendency to mineralization in all preparations at the 20 drillholes available. The cartilage was integrated into the primary cancellous bone developing within the defect. An epiphyseal boundary lamella had not formed in the period of the experiment (in contrast to autogenous transplantation). These investigations show that autologous costal cartilage is superior to homologous costal cartilage in the potential clinical application of costal cartilage transplants in the treatment of Brodie abscesses or post-traumatic epiphyseodeses.
