Connective Tissue Progenitor Analysis of Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC) Harvested from the Body of the Ilium during Arthroscopic Acetabular Labral Repair

Abstract Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the number and concentration of progenitors of the bone marrow aspirate (BMA) harvest from the body of the ilium in comparison to other established aspiration sites. Methods The inclusion criteria consisted of primary hip arthroscopy for acetabular labral tear. BMA was performed by placing an aspiration needle into the body of ilium just proximal to the sourcil in 33 patients. The BMA was centrifuged and processed in the operating room, resulting in approximately 3—5 mL of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC). Samples of both BMA and BMAC sample were analyzed. Results The cohort of 30 patients had a mean number of nucleated cells of 24.0 million nucleated cells/cc of BMA. The BMAC samples had a mean CTP cells concentration of 879.3 stem cells/cc of BMAC, a mean CTP prevalence of 34.1 stem cells/million nucleated cells, and a mean number of days to form colonies of 2.97 days. All four metrics of CTP harvest did not vary significantly with age, BMI, gender, or laterality. The nucleated cell count was significantly associated with both CTP prevalence, r2 = 0.287 (p-value = 0.002), and CTP concentration, r2 = 0.388 (p-value Conclusion BMAC harvested from the body of the ilium during concurrent hip arthroscopy is a technically and biologically feasible option. Furthermore, the harvest site was found to have a CTP concentration that is similar or exceeds other published harvest sites. Finally, BMAC processing and application to areas of articular cartilage wear was performed efficiently and safely with no increase in morbidity or complications.