title: Cranioplasty with auto-purified bone flap after infection.
abstract: Cranioplasty of cranial bone defects can generally be accomplished with autogeneous bones as well as with nonbiological materials. Autologous living-bone grafts are ideal but require sacrifice of donor bone, and synthetic materials might have possible exposure of the materials, delayed infection, and/or allergic reaction. The authors report cranioplasty with a bone graft after auto-purification by subcutaneous preservation of the contaminated bone fragment. A 47-year-old man was given a frontal cranioplasty with a split parietal bone and rib. Epidural abscess ensued, and debridement was performed to control the infection. The largest bone fragment was subcutaneously preserved in the chest wall and reused for cranioplasty. Subcutaneous preservation of bone is a promising strategy for cranioplasty after neurosurgery. The condition of the bone fragment can be inferred from the condition of the site at which it is preserved. If the bone flap is contaminated, it can be purified by the patient's immune system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan. h-yano@net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: Sadanori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akita
authors.forename: Akiyoshi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirano
mesh_terms: D005624:Frontal Bone / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010294:Parietal Bone / Q000637:transplantation*; D012092:Replantation / Q000379:methods; D019233:Retreatment / Q000379:methods; D012272:Ribs / Q000637:transplantation*; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*