A review of reconstructive materials for use in craniofacial surgery bone fixation materials, bone substitutes, and distractors

• Published in: Child's nervous system Vol. 28; no. 9; pp. 1577 - 1588
• Main Authors: Goodrich, James Tait, Sandler, Adam L., Tepper, Oren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.09.2012
• Subjects: Absorbable Implants; Bone Screws; Bone Substitutes - therapeutic use; Craniosynostoses - surgery; Craniotomy - instrumentation; Craniotomy - methods; Humans; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurosciences; Neurosurgery; Special Annual Issue; Allograft cranioplasty; Custom-made implants; Craniosynostosis; Bioabsorbable fixation; Pediatric neurosurgery; Autologous/autogenous cranioplasty; Hydroxyapatite; Resorbable plates and screws; Calvarial bone grafts; Biomaterial; Bone cement; Skull defect; Methyl methacrylate
• ISSN: 0256-7040; 1433-0350
• DOI: 10.1007/s00381-012-1776-y

Over the last 40 years, craniofacial surgery, in general, and surgery for craniosynostosis, in particular, has witnessed the introduction of a number of new materials for use in operations involving the cranial vault. Some of these materials have proven quite useful over time, while others have failed to meet their stated objectives. In this review, the more popular implant materials are analyzed, and their relative merits and drawbacks are discussed. Craniofacial surgery in the pediatric population has its own unique limitations, quite different from the adult population and those issues are reviewed as well.