Bone Morphogenetic Protein

Bone Morphogenetic Protein Surgery

Bone morphogenic protein (BMP) is an isolated protein that induces specific cells in our body to form new cartilage and bone. During bone grafting surgery, BMP can be added to improve the amount of bone obtained.  For this process BMP is soaked onto and binds with a collagen sponge. The sponge is mixed with your bone graft and designed to resorb, or disappear, over time. As the sponge dissolves, the bone morphogenic protein stimulates cells to produce new bone. The BMP also goes away once it has completed its task of jump starting the normal bone healing process.  Because of the recruitment of large number of bone building cells to the surgical area, there is a fair amount of swelling which occurs.  This is a completely normal reaction and not a cause for alarm.

Since there is no need to harvest bone from the patients’ hip for BMP, recipients are spared donor site pain. Complications from the graft harvest site are also eliminated with the use of bone morphogenic protein.

We would be happy to discuss all grafting options with you at the time of consultation.