Cranial bone grafting in children

Computed tomographic scans of 96 patients from newborn to 21 years of age were reviewed to assess the thickness of the skull and diploic space. Cranial thickness of the parietal bone used for calvarial bone harvest was assessed. Analysis of the data revealed that (1) cranial bone thickness may be predicted reliably as a function of age, (2) the growth velocity of increasing thickness of the parietal bone decreased with increasing age, and (3) presence of a diploic space may be predicted reliably as a function of age. On the basis of this analysis, we recommend performing split cranial bone grafting after the age of 3 years. In situ cranial bone grafting should not be planned prior to the age of 9 years.