Facial bone lengthening apparatus with expander and miniplates

LETTER TO EDITOR

Facial bone lengthening apparatus with expander and miniplates

Fausto Viterbo; Silvio Antonio Zanini

Botucatu Medicine College - UNESP and Bauru Rehabilitation Hospital - USP -Brazil

^{Address for Correspondence}

ABSTRACT

Since 1869, bone lengthening has been pursued; when Langenbeck (13) tried growing a shortened bone extremity utilizing for this an arteriovenous fistula in the thigh. At the begining of this century, codovilla (1905) (5,14) introduced bone lenghtening methods for lower limbs.

Uniterms: Bone lengthening; expander; silicone.

RESUMO

Os autores propõem a utilização de um alongador ósseo composto de duas miniplacas. Através de uma válvula remota o expansor seria enchido e a distensão da bolsa promoveria afastamento das miniplacas e consequentemente das extremidades ósseas.

Since 1869, bone lengthening has been pursued; when Langenbeck (02) tried to lengthen a shortened bone extremity utilizing for this an arteriovenous fistula in the thigh.

In the beginning of this century, Codovilla (1905) (03), introduced bone lengthening methods for lower limbs, which lately, with the advent of the external fixation apparatus, such as those created by Anderson and Wagner (13) led to satisfactory results.

However, since 1951, Ilizarov (4,5) in the USSR developed an external fixation system with circular hoops, that only recently came through the citations of italian orthopedists (1,9).

Although bone lengthening of the lower and upper limbs is now completely introduced in the clinics , facial bone lengthening, mainly the mandible, has only lately been researched (7,8,11,19). The researchers (6,7,8) have been developing the mandible lengthening through an external fixation apparatus similar to the one utilized for lower limbs. The disadvantages of this method is the discomfort, the risk of contamination and the scar on the face.

We are now developing an apparatus and method which could avoid these mentioned problems.

Our apparatus would join the advantages of both the tissue expanders (10,11) and the external bone lengthening apparatus.

There would be two miniplates fixed by screws in the bone extremities undergoing the lengthening treatment, and connected to a silicone bellows fixed between the two miniplates. Through a remote valve the expander would be filled and the silicone bellows distention would promote the miniplates distraction, and consequently the bone extremities distraction.

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Address for Correspondence:

Dr. Fausto Viterbo

Rua José Dal Farra, 592 - Botucatu - SP - Brasil -

CEP 18603-790

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  03 July 2009
• Date of issue
  Dec 1994