[Clinical application of bone regeneration by in vivo tissue engineering]

With regard to the graft materials, cortical bone block, vascularized bone flap and particulate cancellous bone and marrow (PCBM) have been used for the reconstruction of maxillofacial skeleton. Needless to say, the aim of cortical bone block and vascularized bone flap transfer is the transplantation of bony tissue of its own. On the other hand, the main objective of PCBM grafting is the transplant of osteogenic stem cells derived from uncommitted marrow mesenchymal cells. After PCBM grafting, active new bone formation occurs from osteogenic stem cells followed by bone remodeling and replacement of host bone. This process means that PCBM grafting is the method of bone regeneration that is based on in vivo tissue engineering. In this paper, clinical application of PCBM grafting for the reconstruction of maxillofacial skeleton is introduced by showing the repair of maxillary bony defect of cleft lip and palate patients, alveolar ridge augmentation and the reconstruction of large mandibular segmental defects.