as shown in fig2 and 3 , the original concept of fenestrating demineralized cortical bone was developed in the rib 100 and the rib 100 was an ideal graft because it can essentially be demineralized and creates a large wide flat surface . after removal of the minimal cancellous center , the rib 100 is passed through a press with cutting or punch blades that create fenestrations or openings 12 bounded by interconnected bone struts 14 that gave the fenestrated bone graft 10 a porosity as well as stretchability and flexibility to fit into relatively defined spaces . the actual processing of the rib graft was done aseptically and used no alcohols , peroxides or decontamination steps in its recovery . in doing so , the clinicians removed all of the costal cartilage that they used for other applications and distribution . they cut the rib 100 at ends 15 , 16 into relatively long segments at least greater than 8 cm . following that , they treated the graft for a predetermined time in 1n hcl ( one normal hydrochloric acid ) ( 20 - 50 parts / gram ) ranging from approximately 1 - 3 hours continuously inspecting the graft rigidity . once they were satisfied with the texture and flexibility of the graft 10 they washed it in a washing solution of phosphate buffered saline approximately 20 minutes . then they cut the rib 100 longitudinally to maintain its cylindrical configuration . this cut along the length allowed for either using the graft as a flat construct or it could maintain the graft 10 in a cylinder . the fenestration portion of the graft 10 is cut into the rib 100 and created using an in - house made bone cutter . once the fenestrations or openings 12 were made in the graft 10 , the graft 10 was freeze dried using an overnight cycle and then packaged sterilely for clinical use in a peel pouch . following the removal of the graft 10 from the plastic peel pouch it can be reconstituted in saline or lactated ringers with or without antibiotics for clinical applications . the graft 10 could be refolded into a cylindrical configuration and filled with either autologous or allogenic bone graft with or without stem cells moreover the graft 10 could be rolled or folded into a confined space such as a cage or rolled into a cylinder where it could be used for the application of satisfying a short close open segment defect . the graft 10 could also be onlaid into a vascularized myo - osseous pouch for the purpose of long segment fusions in the spine , the thoracic or lumbosacral spine . the tibial graft 20 , as shown in fig1 , was conceived to create longer segments of bone for very long segment fusions in the case of scoliosis or a multi - segment instability or trauma of the spine . again the graft 20 was recovered from a tibia 200 , in aseptic fashion without the use of peroxides detergents or secondary decontamination steps . secondary sterilization could however be employed if cultures were positive for non - exclusionary organisms as outlined in fda guidelines . aseptic cleaning in the processing state has been reinstituted and the tibia graft 20 was cut on a band saw in a coronal fashion in lengths 10 cm or greater , while the thickness is approximately 0 . 2 to 1 mm . the graft 20 was then placed in a large graft cylinder and treated with 1n hcl ( 20 - 50 parts / gram ) for 4 - 6 hours with continuous inspection to assess the rigidity and texture of the graft 20 . once the appropriate texture was obtained , it was then washed in phosphate buffered saline three separate times for 20 minutes . the graft 20 was then placed on the bone cutter to create the appropriate fenestrations or opening 12 bound by the interconnected bone struts 14 and then the tibia graft 20 was placed in the freeze drier for an overnight cycle . it was then packaged sterilely for clinical use . in using the tibia graft 20 , it was removed from the peel pouch and reconstituted in saline or lactated ringers with or without the addition of antibiotics and then depending on the particular application , the tibia graft 20 , like the rib graft 10 would be onlaid or folded into a cylinder or a roll or a basket into which particulate graft could be added along with a stem cell . fig4 and 5 show a basket formed from fenestrated graft 10 , 20 strip folded over and laced or woven together to form the basket shape . so the indications for this graft 20 are felt to be long segment fusion such as scoliosis , multi - level and trauma as well as maxillofacial surgery , surgery involving defects in cranial pulp , or long segment defects as well as any other defect . fig1 is essentially showing a portion of a 20 cm long fenestrated bone graft 20 that was derived from the tibia 200 . it is freeze dried and this is done after the fenestrations 12 were created in the graft after it was fully demineralized . once this fenestrated bone graft 20 is hydrated it resumes its pliable shape and can be formed into several alterations that can retain smaller bone particulate graft and stem cells . fig2 shows a cylindrical graft 10 made from rib 100 . one notes that the fenestrations 12 are created by not having to longitudinally section the rib 100 , but using a more robust cut to create fenestrations 12 throughout the graft 10 . this is a very interesting graft because it can be filled with allograft bone particulate graft or dbm or stem cells or a combination thereof and can be sewn or restricted above and below at ends 15 , 16 of the rib graft 10 . this construct can be used to fill a cage construct or potentially to augment a segmental defect or to satisfy a defect in the portion of a long bone or a strip in a pelvis . fig3 is a higher power magnification showing the morphologic changes that are created in the demineralized cortical bone following fenestration . one notes the uniformity and openness of porous bone structure and the intervening connective strut structure 14 of cortical bone . the desired texture is a surface related property that has to do with the pliability and stretchability of the grafts 10 , 20 themselves . it has to be sufficiently demineralized to have the flexibility which allows creating a variety of different shapes . if too stiff , obviously it can &# 39 ; t create these shapes , if demineralized it too much it loses some of the inductivity that is inherent in demineralized bone . the cut openings 12 or fenestrations 12 are made with a punch press . as shown , these openings 12 are oblong . one can make the openings 12 any size desired . to entrap bone particles calls for pore sizes that are small . this will restrict micronized bone and one could see that these are grafts 10 or 20 formed as strips having the actual pore size about 3 mm long and 1 . 5 mm wide for the fenestrations 12 . the bone connections or struts 14 or strut networks formed are about 1 mm or less in diameter , width or thickness 0 . 8 to 1 . 2 mm , at the connective portions , about double that . the actual sizes of the fenestrations 12 can vary in a range from fractions of a millimeter to several millimeters depending on the graft application , 0 . 2 mm to 5 mm . this bone graft 10 or 20 could be used as a spacer in the mid - foot and or the fore foot , because of its pliability . with reference to fig6 , the allograft bone structure 10 , 20 can be made in the form of a pouch or pillow 10 , 20 . it uses 100 % human demineralized cortical sheet . the pillow 10 , 20 is meshed , perforated bone with fibrous cortical cancellous stuffing 300 . the stuffing 300 can be cancellous bone material , autologous or allogenic bone graft , with or without stem cells , allograft bone particulate graft or dbm or stem cells , bma or any combination thereof . the pillow ends 15 , 16 can be sutured . cortical sheet is machine stamped for consistency in the open area as previously discussed . it has flexible handling characteristics with osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties . it is easy to handle and deliver , is pre - configured implant sized to the specific procedure and it aims to solve the common problems of graft site migration and the ability to visualize the implant post - surgery . it can be made available in multiple lengths . it has a 5 year shelf life at room - temperature storage and can be conveniently distributed in packs of 2 . as shown , the demineralized cortical meshed perforated “ pillows ” 10 , 20 can be processed from donated human bone utilizing the previously discussed demineralization technology ; the grafts are flexible and feature osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties . when combined with bma , it provides all of the necessary elements for bone regeneration . it is designed for posterolateral and cervical spine surgery applications including single - and multi - level fusions , as well as deformity procedures . it can be distributed in packs of 2 to provide fusion material for both sides of the spine , thus minimizing the number of boxes to open during procedures . it can be provided in various sizes , for example : 20 mm × 50 mm ( 2 ) for posterolateral applications ; 10 mm × 100 mm ( 2 ) for spinal deformity ; and 10 mm × 50 mm ( 2 ) for posterior cervical applications . variations in the present invention are possible in light of the description of it provided herein . while certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the subject invention , it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the subject invention . it is , therefore , to be understood that changes can be made in the particular embodiments described , which will be within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims .
the present invention relates to a fenestrated bone graft and a method of preparing cortical bone in thin strips then fully demineralizing it to give it formed flexibility and then creating fenestrations in the cortical bone in a fashion similar to but not identical to skin grafts .