Preliminary report of two-stage secondary alveolar bone grafting for patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate.

Abstract

To overcome the difficulties of one-stage secondary alveolar bone grafting for patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) who have a broad alveolar cleft, the value of two-stage alveolar bone grafting was examined. Three patients (2 girls and 1 boy) with BCLP were treated by two-stage alveolar bone grafting. The procedure consisted of a first-stage surgery (mean age 8 year 6 months +/- 7.8 months), which consisted of alveolar bone grafting for one side of the BCLP, and second-stage surgery for the contralateral side several months later. For the postoperative assessment, radiographs of the operated site were examined. The average amount of implanted bone per operation and per patient was 6.8 +/- 1.1 g and 13.7 +/- 1.0 g, respectively. Postoperative clinical and radiographic examinations revealed that an appreciable alveolar bone ridge had formed, and there were no major complications. Two-stage alveolar bone grafting, which makes it possible to reduce the amount of implanted bone, could be an optional surgical procedure for patients with BCLP and a broad alveolar cleft.