Combining bisphosphonates with allograft bone for implant fixation

The aim of this review was to discuss the current state of research of combining bisphosphonates with allograft bone for implant fixation. The allograft bone can only be reached by the bisphosphonate once it has been revascularized. However, this can be circumvented by local administration of bisphosphonates. Several animal studies showed that local application of bisphosphonates might protect the graft from resorption. There seems to be an optimum concentration for local application, however, this optimum varies for all different bisphosphonates. It can be concluded that local administration of bisphosphonates might play an important role in improving stability after surgery in which a prosthesis is combined with allograft bone to restore bony defects, however caution should be taken when extrapolating results of animal research to the human clinical situation. More research is needed to study the effect of local bisphophonate use in humans and to study possible side effects.