The propellant unilateral magnetic appliance (PUMA): a new technique for hemifacial microsomia.

A new appliance with samarium cobalt magnets embedded in unilateral blocks of acrylic is described, as a way of stimulating an autogenous costochondral graft, in a case with hemifacial microsomia. Laser scan images are used to illustrate a reversion towards facial soft tissue symmetry, over a 3-year period of treatment.