The comparison of the viability of crushed, morselized and diced cartilage grafts: a confocal microscopic study

To compare the cellular viability of diced, crushed, and morselized cartilage used in nasal surgeries. In this study, cartilage was extracted from the ears of seven New Zealand rabbits and was subsequently either diced, crushed or morselized to an amorphous state, or left unmodified. The four types of grafts were then implanted in the back regions of the rabbits. After 3 months, the cellular viability from four groups was compared to a control group using confocal microscopy. Analysis of the data obtained from the enumeration of live cells showed no statistically significant difference between the unmodified graft group and the control group. The diced, crushed, and morselized cartilage groups did show a statistically significant difference in terms of live cell count with the highest number of live cells in diced cartilage group. A statistically significant decrease in live cell count was detected in crushed cartilage group. Our study shows that the viability of cells in diced cartilage grafts is greater than those in crushed or morselized cartilage grafts.