Metallic implants as growth markers in infants with craniofacial anomalies

The purpose of the study was to test the retention of metallic implants in bone tissue for evaluation of early facial growth patterns in patients with craniofacial malformations. Implants were inserted in 51 patients (age range: 1-17 months) with different diagnoses, the majority of them with various types of cleft lip and/or palate. Seven positions in the maxilla and four in the mandible were employed. Roentgencephalometric follow-up examinations were carried out at various stages up to the age of about three years. The results indicated that the frequency of implants firmly retained within the bone decreased with time depending on the craniofacial deformity and the implant sites. Stability seemed most critical in positions close to the alveolar processes where more than one-half of the implants inserted were dislocated or lost at the three-year follow-up. For the maxillary implants the patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate displayed the highest failure rate. This investigation did not support continuation of the implant method in infants as used in the present study.