What is a Bone Defect?
A bone defect is an area of missing bone where bone should be present in the body. Bone defects can cause either a non-union or an “artificial joint” to occur (pseudarthrosis), where the two parts of the bone are joined with a fibrous tissue. In most cases this presents functional limitations for our patients. These areas lack sufficient blood flow and are usually covered with scarred or fibrotic skin. When bone defects will not heal naturally with in a patient life time, surgical interventions may be necessary to gain proper function and stability of the limb.