Le Fort I osteotomy in atrophied maxilla and bone regeneration with pure-phase beta-tricalcium phosphate and PRP

Le Fort I osteotomy is a versatile procedure in oral and maxillofacial surgery for the correction of dysgnathias as well as for an easy approach to the surgical site in neurosurgery; however, it is rarely performed for a vertical advancement of the maxilla. This paper presents the successful use of the synthetic pure-phase beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) Cerasorb (Curasan, Kleinostheim, Germany), together with autogenous bone at a ratio of 4:1, in combination with patients' own platelet-rich plasma for a vertical augmentation of completely atrophied maxillae, resulting in an advancement of 16 and 14 mm, respectively. After a period of 8 months the beta-TCP was completely resorbed and the x-ray control showed no residual granules in the defect sites. Pure-phase beta-TCP proved to be a bone-regeneration material, providing the patient with vital bone at the defect site in a reasonable time, making a second surgical procedure for bone harvesting (e.g., at the iliac crest) unnecessary. The relapse of approximately one third in the second case did not affect the success of treatment and was attributed to the combination of platelet-rich plasma with a resorbable polylactic membrane. Thus, in the combination of pure-phase beta-TCP and platelet-rich plasma, the use of nonresorbable membranes and suture materials is recommended. These results encourage the qualified surgeon to use the pure-phase beta-TCP for bone regeneration even when performing augmentations of this dimension.