Reaction of Bone to Magnetic Implant

¹ Department of Research, Loyola University School of Dentistry, Chicago, Illinois

Ten dogs were used to implant a magnetized platinum-cobalt alloy in the body of the mandible. A similar non-magnetic alloy was implanted in the opposite mandible body to serve as control. The animals were sacrificed at intervals of from 24 hours to 6 months. The specimens were studied grossly and microscopically. The tissue reactions observed were inflammation, proliferation, and reconstruction. A clot formed around the implant and cemented the overlying mucoperiosteum to the surface of the bony vault. Loose connective tissue proliferated from the perivascular areas in the periosteum endosteum and Haversian system. This served to organize the blood clot. Osteoclasts, osteoblasts, fibroblasts, macrophages, and new capillaries arose from the indifferent cells of the loose connective tissue. The implant became completely surrounded by a dense fibrous capsule. The outer surface of the capsule became continuous with the reconstructed periosteum lining the bony vault. A platinum-cobalt alloy, either magnetized or non-magnetized, was apparently innocuous when implanted in bone. Normal sequence of repair occurred in the mucoperiosteum and bone tissue in the presence of the magnetic implant of platinum-cobalt alloy. A thin fibrous capsule formed around a platinum-cobalt alloy implanted in the mandible.