Results
Of the 40 patients recruited for the study, 4 (10%) were excluded due to protocol violations (prohibited medication history, significantly exceeding the follow-up time-point limit, and severely defective bone), 2 of them from the natural healing group, and 1 patient each from the rhBMP-2/BioCaP/β-TCP and β-TCP groups, respectively. Therefore, the study population included 14 patients in the rhBMP-2/BioCaP/β-TCP group, 14 in the β-TCP, and 8 in the control group.