The fate of onlay membranous bone grafts in different facial recipient sites

Summary The fate of onlay bone grafts was studied in the growing rabbit facial skeleton with regard to the depository and resorptive characteristics of bone surfaces. The nasal snout was chosen as the depository field and the vestibular surface of the mandibular ramus as the resorptive field. The membranous bone graft applied on a depository surface maintained its volume and morphology significantly better than the graft placed on a resorptive field. There was no evident difference between the fate of full-thickness and split-thickness membranous bone grafts in the different facial recipient beds. The authors suggest that the reconstructive procedures to improve the facial skeleton contour in growing children should be planned keeping in mind the depository or resorptive characteristics of the facial recipient site.