Reconstruction of a large congenital cranioorbital defect with a species-specific demineralized bone implant

Bone grafting is one of the most common operative procedures in craniofacial surgery today. Almost all surgical defects have to be closed with a graft, and all stabilized segments require bone grafts for stabilization prior to fixation. In certain circumstances, however, lack of availability of large grafts necessitates the use of bone substitutes. In the patient presented, a large defect--which is larger than a critical size defect--did not close on its own, even though neonates have a very high potential for forming bone around the dura. The defect was closed with demineralized bone implantation and showed complete filling of the defect through the bone induction principle.