Catcher's mask cranioplasty for extensive cranial defects in children with an open head trauma: a novel application of partial cranioplasty.
OBJECTIVE
In children who have suffered a severe, extensive head trauma, cranioplasty is complicated because allografting is not advisable in pediatric patients and the amount of available autologous materials is limited. To overcome these problems, we employed a combination of autologous rib grafts and calvarial grafts for partial cranioplasty.


METHODS
We named this partial cranioplasty technique 'catcher's mask cranioplasty'. Rib grafts were placed mimicking a baseball catcher's mask to obtain maximum strong coverage of the defect. Calvarial grafts were used to achieve a smooth forehead contour. Islands of osteoanagenesis were also used.


CONCLUSIONS
These autografts were of sufficient strength, esthetically satisfactory, and no patient developed sinking skin flap syndrome. Catcher's mask cranioplasty is a useful technique to successfully reconstruct the skull in pediatric patients with extensive cranial defects and an insufficient amount of autologous graft material.
Takumi
Ichiro
I
NMS Cranio-Facial Institute, Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokuso Hospital, Inba-gun Inba-mura, Chiba Hokuso 270-1694, Japan.
Akimoto
Masataka
M
D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000601:surgery*; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012272:Ribs / Q000637:transplantation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012886:Skull / Q000601:surgery*; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome