Micro-structure particles for load bearing bone growth

A method of facilitating bone growth in a patient having a site of a bone fracture with bone segments, comprising:

• positioning a flexible tubular device comprising a bioresorbable polymer material, said positioning being at the site of the bone fracture and around an external surface of the bone fracture;
• affixing the flexible tubular device to the bone segments to retain the bone segments and form an affixed device at the site of the bone fracture;
• filling micro-structure particles into said affixed device so as to apply said micro-structure particles to said fracture, wherein each of said micro-structure particles has a longitudinal axis and include a first pore extending through an entire thickness of said micro-structure particles along the longitudinal axis, said first pore having a diameter in the range of 50 μm to 1,000 μm;
• aligning at least a portion of said micro-structure particles within said affixed device at the site of the bone fracture along their longitudinal axes into a plurality of rows such that:
• each row comprises a plurality of said micro-structure particles;
• and
• first pores of adjacent micro-structure particles in each row are aligned so as to provide an interconnected pore structure forming a channel spanning across and through the plurality of said micro-structure particles;
• applying a filler polymer having a viscosity of less than or equal to 500,000 centipoise to said aligned micro-structure particles at the site of the bone fracture;
• and
• solidifying said polymer at the site of the bone fracture.