Immediate mandibular reconstruction: human experience with autogenous frozen mandibular grafts

Autogenous mandibular grafts that have been cryosurgically devitalized and reimplanted have been studied in the canine. Initial investigations have lent impetus to further application in human cancer surgery. Six patients underwent immediate autogenous mandibular graft reconstruction. All failed because of intraoral complications and decreased vascularization in the midportion of the bone graft. None evidenced recurrence of tumor in bone, although two patient's grafts failed on the basis of tumor recurrence in the adjacent soft tissue.