Application of a new chair-side method for the harvest of mesenchymal stem cells in a patient with nonunion of a fracture of the atrophic mandible--a case report.

Purpose: This case report describes a new clinical method for chair-side processing of a cell mixture which contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which was applied for the first time in the treatment of a nonunion of an atrophic fractured mandible.

Methods: Bone marrow was aspirated and a corticocancellous bone graft was harvested from the iliac crest of a 56-year-old woman with medical comorbidities and a fracture of the atrophic mandible. The fracture was stabilized with a reconstruction bone plate, and mononuclear cells including MSCs were concentrated by centrifugation and applied in combination with a particulate bone transplant. A sample of the grafted cells was characterized by flow cytometric analysis and by their ability to differentiate into various cell types.

Results: The fracture healed uneventfully. No complications occurred during the 4-month follow-up.

Conclusion: Adding MSCs is a feasible alternative to enhance bone healing. This chair-side method requires little training and no cell laboratory support.