Distraction osteogenesis of the mandible with an internal bioresorbable device.

Lengthening of the mandible by distraction osteogenesis has been shown to be an effective treatment of hypoplastic mandibles. Use of an internal technique with a bioresorbable distraction device is presented. Mandibular lengthening was performed in seven patients aged 3.2 to 7 years. Six of the patients were diagnosed with craniofacial microsomia, anthe buccal aspect of the mandible, and distraction was started on the second postoperative day at the rate of d one was diagnosed with Nager syndrome. An internal bioresorbable device was placed along 1 mm/d and continued for 17 to 20 days. The distractor screw was maintained for retention for an additional 6 weeks and was then removed. All the patients showed clinical improvement. The postdistraction craniofacial computed tomography scans demonstrated elongation of the mandible with increase in the bony mass. The complications included device failure in one patient. The advantage of this method compared with the internal metal device is that it does not necessitate an additional procedure for device removal.