Abstract
Background. Chronic osteomyelitis remains a challenging problem in modern orthopedics, requiring simultaneous eradication of infection and bone defect reconstruction. The use of biodegradable bone substitutes with antimicrobial properties represents a promising approach. Objective. Histomorphometric evaluation of remodeling processes of an original bone substitute material impregnated with vancomycin in experimental chronic osteomyelitis treatment. Materials and methods. The study was performed on 9 rabbits with infected bone defect modeling in the proximal tibial metaphysis. After chronic osteomyelitis development, surgical debridement was performed with defect replacement using original biodegradable mineralized bone graft material impregnated with vancomycin. Histomorphometric analysis was conducted at 14, 45, and 90 days postoperatively. Results. Progressive decrease in relative inflammation area from 78.19 to 32.65% (p<0.001) and necrotic bone proportion from 57.31 to 34.59% by day 90 was revealed. Osteoblastic activity significantly increased from 3.99 to 11.37% (p=0.016), while osteoclastic activity remained stable (4.39–3.21%). Three consecutive phases of material integration were established: early inflammatory, intermediate reparative, and late remodeling. Conclusion. The investigated bone substitute material effectively suppresses infection and creates favourable conditions for physiological reparative osteogenesis, supporting its potential for clinical application.