DISTRACTION OSTEOGENESIS

Maxillomandibular hypoplasia, facial asymmetry, and congenital micrognathia are relatively common abnormalities in the craniofacial complex. Traditionally, the skeletal deformities have been addressed in non-growing patients via osteotomies followed by acute orthopedic movements and skeletal fixation with or without interpositional bone graft. Many congenital deformities require such large musculoskeletal movements, which will not be accommodated by the soft tissues, leading to compromised function, and esthetics unless soft tissue procedures are performed. Modern surgical interventions only permit the acute changes in the spatial arrangement of bones with limited possibilities for new bone growth. Recent approaches have been directed at modulating de novo bone growth through osteoconduction and/or osteoinduction. An alternative method is callus distraction known as DISTRACTION OSTEOGENESIS or callotasis, which is a process of new bone formation between the vascularized surfaces of bone segments gradually separated by incremental traction.