[Use of the calvarium for bone grafting in cranio-maxillo-facial surgery]

Bone grafts's traditional donor sites in cranio-maxillo-facial surgery have been for many years and are still in some occasions the ribs, iliac crest and tibia. Bone grafts taken from the calvaria have been used by some surgeons in the past but its wide acceptance was only achieved after Paul Tessier had reported his own experience. The calvaria is composed of inner and outer tables that encloses a layer of cancellous bone called the diploe. A high degree of variability exist with respect to skull thickness. Nevertheless parietal bones is the preferable site for the harvesting of the graft. The embryonic origin of the cranium should be responsible for greater survival of the graft. Membranous bone would maintain its volume to a greater extent than endochondral bone when autografted in the cranio-facial region. However this remains controversial. Two techniques can be used for the harvesting of a calvarial bone grafts. A split thickness calvarial graft involves removal of the outer table while leaving the inner layer in place. Its main disadvantage is the relatively thinness of the bone transferred. A full thickness segment of skull involves the cranium cavity be entered. A half of the graft can be split along the diploe space and returned to fill the donor site. The other half is used for reconstruction. It is a more complicated procedure. Cranial grafts have been used in the following cases. Correction of contour defect of the forehead and zygomatic bones, orbital floor reconstruction, restoration of the nasal bridge, bone grafting of the maxilla and mandibule. The advantages are the following: the donor and recipient sites are in adjacent surgical fields, the donor site scar is hidden in the scalp, morbidity associated with removing the graft is almost inexistent. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)