Abstract Introduction: Major surgical interventions are known to impact body weight through various mechanisms. In distraction osteogenesis, clinicians have observed patients losing weight during active lengthening. This study characterizes body weight changes during tibial lengthening in a controlled animal model. Materials and Methods: Following institutional ethical approval, unilateral tibial lengthening was performed in nine 3-month-old New Zealand White rabbits (initial weight range: 3.15–3.4 kg). Tibiae were distracted at a rate of 0.75 mm/day, delivered in three increments of 0.25 mm to achieve 20% lengthening. Animals received equal daily food rations with additional nutritional enrichment. Body weights were recorded at baseline (day 0) and at subsequent time points: Days 21, 28, 35 (end of distraction), 49, 63, and 77. Results: The mean baseline weight was 3.27 kg. By day 35, mean weight decreased to 3.15 kg, reflecting a 3.7% reduction. A gradual recovery followed during consolidation, with weights increasing to a mean of 3.41 kg by day 77. The trajectory of weight change showed a strong correlation with treatment timeline ( R ² = 0.9733). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate a consistent pattern of transient weight loss during distraction osteogenesis with recovery during the consolidation phase. Awareness of this pattern may guide perioperative nutritional support and enhance bone regeneration outcomes in limb lengthening patients.
Bafor et al. (Tue,) studied this question.