Rabbit ear cartilage regeneration with a small intestinal submucosa graft.

Objectives/hypothesis: The objective was to demonstrate that interpositional grafting with porcine small intestinal submucosa promotes cartilage regeneration following excision of rabbit auricular cartilage.

Study Design: Blinded, controlled study.

Methods: Eight New Zealand white rabbits underwent excision of auricular cartilage on two sites with and two sites without preservation of perichondrium. Porcine small intestinal submucosa was implanted into one site with and one site without intact perichondrium. Remaining sites served as control sites. Histological assessment was performed at 3 (n = 4) and 6 (n = 3) months and at 1 year (n = 1) after grafting.

Results: Histological evaluation showed cartilage regeneration accompanied by chronic inflammation in areas in which porcine small intestinal submucosa was implanted between layers of intact perichondrium. Other sites failed to show significant cartilage regeneration.

Conclusion: The results of the study using porcine small intestinal submucosa as a bioscaffold for cartilage regeneration are promising and justify further animal and human studies.