Non-union of a preprosthetic Le Fort I osteotomy with freeze-dried bone as an interpositional graft

A case of non-union of a preprosthetic Le Fort I osteotomy using freeze-dried bone as an interpositional graft in a 38 year old woman is presented. The principles of natural bone repair and the different causes of non-union of bone fragments are discussed. How long does nature need for successful ingrowth of connective and vascular tissue and for the resorption-replacement mechanism using freeze-dried bone to bridge an osteotomy gap? Successful treatment of the non-union consisted of curettage of the granulation tissue followed by autogenous cortico-cancellous bone grafting.