title: Assessment of the effects on growth of porous hydroxyapatite granule cranioplasty in the immature guinea pig craniofacial skeleton.
abstract: The immature guinea pig was used to study the effects on growth of porous granular hydroxyapatite used as an onlay cranioplasty and inlay cranioplasty to reconstruct full-thickness cranial defects in a growing craniofacial skeleton. Forty Hartley guinea pigs, 20 immature animals and 20 mature animals, were divided into four groups each containing five mature and five immature animals. The mature animals served as controls. Group I underwent elevation and replacement of the parietal periosteum. Group II underwent placement of hydroxyapatite between periosteum and parietal bone. Group III underwent elevation and replacement of autogenous bone flap after the formation of a 1 x 1-cm craniectomy defect in the parietal skull. Group IV underwent elevation of a 1 x 1-cm parietal craniectomy and reconstruction of the defect with hydroxyapatite granules placed between the dura and periosteum. Immature animals were killed at maturity at 3.5 months and mature animals were killed 2.5 months postoperatively. Macroscopic examination of the operative field, transverse and longitudinal cephalometric measurements, and histological sections encompassing the operative sites were compared. Macroscopically, all reconstructed operative sites were fully incorporated into the cranium. Histological staining of the sectioned operative site revealed no hydroxyapatite migration through the cranial bone or dura. No inflammatory or foreign body reaction was evident in the subcutaneous tissue, periosteum, or dura. No statistically significant cephalometric intergroup or intragroup differences were found at the conclusion of the study. The results of this study indicate that a granular porous form of hydroxyapatite may be used as an onlay or inlay cranioplasty in the immature guinea pig craniofacial skeleton without evidence of dural inflammation, granule migration, or growth restriction or retardation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75246, USA. chobar@aol.com
authors.forename: P Craig
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hobar
authors.forename: Jeremy A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antrobus
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002508:Cephalometry; D003399:Craniotomy; D017886:Durapatite; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D016348:Osseointegration / Q000502:physiology; D010294:Parietal Bone / Q000254:growth & development / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D017886:Durapatite