RESUMO
Objective To observe the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on lumbar intertransverse fusion in rabbits. Methods Twenty-eight healthy adult female rabbits underwent lum-bar intertransverse fusion at L5～6 with autogenous iliac bone graft. They were randomly assigned into an HBO group and a control group (n=14). Rabbits were killed 6 weeks after the operation for surgical inspection, X-ray, bone density measurement and histologic analysis. Results The fusion rate of the HBO group evaluated by surgical inspection, and radiologic examination in a blind fashion significantly increased compared with that of the control group (P<0.05). Qualitative histologic as-sessment showed increased bone formation and bone maturity in the HBO group compared with the control group. Conclusion Hyperbaric oxygen therapy could improve the fusion rate of lumbar inter-transverse fusion in rabbits.
