[Coral in infra-osseous lesions. Evaluation after 7 years' use]

The coral or madreporaria skeleton is morphologically and chemically very similar to mineral bone. The authors began to experiment with the implantation of selected pieces of coral in the cranial and facial bones of dogs, pigs and monkeys. The obtained true reossification with the wide porous varieties, and a very stable implant with a very good tolerance with the other varieties. Having collected and analysed the first two years results on the animal, we started, in 1981, to use coral implants in corrective surgery of the face by extrapolating in other specific areas, such as periodontology which we believe to be a very promising area of investigation. The filling of the interior bone cavities remains our chief concern; a quick look taken at the available literature on the subject has convinced us of the strong need for grafts in the treatment of bone lesions. We do not propose here a critical or a comparative study of the different materials mentioned: Our goal has been to transmit our finding, based on the importance of madrepore: its wide availability; easy use; economical price; biological qualities; consistent result.