Secondary Alveolar Bone Grafting Using Iliac Corticocancellous Bone Plate With Suture Fixation Technique: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the iliac corticocancellous bone plate with suture fixation technique for secondary alveolar bone grafting (ABG) in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP).

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Nine consecutive patients with alveolar cleft-including 8 unilateral and 1 bilateral- underwent ABG with cancellous bone compressed into the alveolar cleft and cortical bone plate fixed with suture on the labial side. Preoperative and 6-month postoperative computed tomography scans were obtained for quantitative evaluation of the bone fill and alveolar bone bridge.

RESULTS

All the patients have recovered well except 1 showed a mild bone graft infection but uneventful healing at 1 month postoperatively. The mean volume of alveolar bone defect was 945.7 mm 3 and the mean volume of postoperative newly formed bone was 596.4 mm 3 . The mean percentage bone fill was 63.8% at 6 months postoperatively. The morphologic analysis of the alveolar bone bridge showed that bone formation was primarily distributed on the nasal floor and labial side. Categorical evaluation showed 1 poor, 5 moderate, and 3 good results of the surgical procedure.

CONCLUSIONS

The iliac corticocancellous bone plate with suture fixation technique offers an alternative method for secondary alveolar bone grafting with adequate stability.