Bone regenerative effect of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 after cyst enucleation

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the effect of rhBMP-2 for repair of bone defects after cyst enucleation using the osteogenesis index (OI). METHODS: Under general anesthesia, 10 patients (12 lesions) underwent oral or maxillofacial surgery for cyst enucleation. Postoperatively, 12 lesions were divided into two groups: group A (six lesions) was treated with absorbable collagen sponge (ACS) in combination with rhBMP-2, and group B (six lesions) was treated with ACS alone. After 3 months, cone-beam computed tomographic scans were obtained to measure changes in the volume of the lesions. We then calculated the OI of each group at two different Hounsfield units to determine any statistically significant difference between these two groups (Mann–Whitney U test). RESULTS: As tested at the level of new bone, the mean OI was 72.37 % in group A and 55.08 % in group B —a statistically significant difference (p = 0.041). As tested at the level of mature bone, the mean OI was 27.47 % in group A and 18.88 % in group B, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.394). CONCLUSIONS: The application of rhBMP-2 after maxillofacial cyst enucleation accelerated new bone formation in the bone defects. Thus, the use of rhBMP-2 in combination with ACS may be considered an alternative to conventional bone grafting in some patients with postoperative bone defects. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40902-016-0070-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.