Donor Site Changes in Bone Thickness, Volume, and Density Following Split Cranial Bone Graft Harvest

The calvarium can provide large amount of good quality corticocancellous autogenous bone graft. Although many studies have highlighted the advantages of the split cranial bone graft, there is no published work available in the literature about the fate of donor site of the split cranial bone graft. The present study was undertaken to assess the donor site as regards to the thickness, volume, and the density of the residual bone over a period of 12 months in the postoperative period. A total of 30 patients in the age group of 15 to 43 years were studied from January 2015 to January 2016. Postoperative computer tomography scans were taken at 2 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year postoperative to measure the bone thickness, volume, and density at the donor site of the split cranial bone graft harvest. The bone thickness at the donor site showed progressive increase in the thickness over the period of study and the average increase in thickness was about 12.4% at the end of 1 year. The average increase in volume at the donor site was of 2.65% after 12 months. Similarly, the average bone density increased by 3.7% at the end of 1 year. This prospective study conclusively proves that the residual bone at the donor site of the split cranial bone graft harvest site continues to grow in thickness and density over a period of 1 year.