Use of autogenous cranial bone grafts in maxillofacial surgery: a preliminary report

In conventional reconstruction of the facial skeleton, bone grafts are usually harvested from distant sites such as the ilium or ribs. Because of the morbidity associated with the use of these sites, the calvarium was studied as an alternate donor site. Twenty-three patients underwent bone grafting using autogenous calvarial bone. Reconstructive procedures included alveolar cleft grafts, Le Fort I osteotomies, midface onlay grafts, and grafting of a mandibular continuity defect. Intraoperative and postoperative morbidity associated with the bone donor site was minimal, and there was good incorporation of all the grafts. Long-term follow up is necessary before definitive conclusions about the response of the grafted bone can be made, but short-term results were promising.