Reconstruction of Craniomaxillofacial Bone Defects With Customized Prosthesis of Hydroxyapatite/Epoxide Acrylate Maleic Compound Designed by Computer-Aided Technique

Reconstruction of Craniomaxillofacial Bone Defects With Customized Prosthesis of Hydroxyapatite/Epoxide Acrylate Maleic Compound Designed by Computer-Aided Technique: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical technique of reconstruction of craniomaxillofacial bone defects by using hand-made customized prosthesis of hydroxyapatite (HA)/epoxide acrylate maleic (EAM) compound with computer-aided technique. Between 2008 and 2015, eleven patients underwent computed tomography, three-dimensional (3D) imaging and reconstruction surgery. These customized HA/EAM compound artificial implants were hand-made, guided by computer-aided solid 3D reconstruction models of pre-operation structures of the patients. The artificial implants had to match the bone loss area accurately and be fixed stable with titanium screws and titanium meshes. For all patients and their surgeons, the post-operative aesthetics and functionality of the prosthesis were satisfactory. Only one patient felt a prominent edge of the prosthesis, but without any discomfort. In this case, a small groove was observed through CT scan. During the follow-up period (6–87 months), none of the 11 patients experienced any other complications, nor did they need secondary operation for adjusting or removing the prosthesis. In conclusion, this reconstruction technique of craniomaxillofacial bone defects by using hand-made customized HA/EAM compound artificial implants can achieve ideal results in both appearance and functionality.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Qian Tan, MD, PhD, Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, 321 Zhongshan Road, 210008 Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China; E-mail: smmutanqian@sina.com

Received 1 May, 2019

Accepted 17 August, 2019

YX and XY contributed equally to this article.

This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (81671922), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20170124), Project of Nanjing Science and Technology Development (YKK16077).

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

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© 2019 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.