[Indications and incidence of spongiosa transplantation in open fractures: analysis of 470 open fractures].

From a prospective series of 651 open fractures, treated at the institution of the authors in the years 1984-1989, 124 cancellous bone grafts in 470 open long bone fractures--651 open fractures excluding amputation after Type III open fractures, excluding traumatic amputations and open fractures of the ankle joint and foot--were analyzed using approximately 155 variables per individual fracture to deduct the influencing factors for indication and frequency of bone grafts. As a result of this analysis it could be shown that bone grafting depends significantly on variables describing the bone injury as well as the type of fixation used. The frequency of bone grafts in this series was much higher than stated in the literature. The time of surgery for bone grafting depends on the type of fixation used, the concomitant soft tissue injury and the amount of primary bone loss. In contrast to the literature the analysis revealed that for good indications the use of allogeneous bone grafts in open fractures is possible.