Abstract

Device and method for treating mammalian bone deficiencies, defects, voids and conformational discontinuities produced by congenital deformities, osseous and/or soft tissue pathology, traumatic injuries and functional atrophy is described. The device is a one piece molded body member composed of four substances, each of which contributes to the device, a specific requirement (or requirements) for osteogenesis and/or osteoneogenesis. Taken as a whole, the functions of these device constituents are integrated into a single body member which, when implanted into a bone defect, has the capacity to restore functional architecture and mechanical integrity, initiate osteoinduction and osteogenesis, and maintain the biological processes of bone formation and remodeling while the host organism is simultaneously biodegrading the body member. The ultimate result of the functioning is formation of healthy, viable bone tissue where there was not bone before, while, simultaneously, the entire device is hydrolyzed and completely metabolized by the host organism. The device comprises four disparate elements: polylactic acid, hyaluronic acid bone morphogenetic protein and bone derived growth factor. Working together, these elements provide the following five biological functions prerequisite to the processes of osteoneogenesis: structural competence (polylactic acid), chemotaxis (hyaluronic acid), electronegative field (hyaluronic acid and physical-chemical electrokinetic events), osteoinduction (bone morphogenetic protein), and osteogenesis (bone derived growth factor).