Abstract
Recently, several flaps have been applied to immediate mandibular defects. The soft tissue covering the grafted bone tends to be a thick and bulky skin paddle compared to thin masticatory mucosa. In such cases, further surgical intervention is required to enable dental devices to be used.
We previously reported a new reconstruction method, called the Bare Bone Graft (BBG). A DCIA pedicled iliac crest was grafted to the defect, without epithelial component (Japanese Journal of Head and Neck Cancer 29 (1) 2003). Between 1997 and 2008, we performed BBG in 25 cases for immediate reconstruction of segmental mandibular defects. Of those cases, 22 resulted in success, 2 in total failure, and 1 in partial failure. All of the 22 cases acquired tight masticatory mucosa after several weeks without any surgical intervention. Of the 22 patients, 19 were able to wear ordinary dentures. The time required for wearing dentures ranged from 7 to 72 days after primary surgery (average 38 days). Mean period of denture usage was 57.5 months (10-103). Minor problems in acquired masticatory mucosa were pointed out during this period, such as traumatic ulcer caused by dentures, plate exposure (due to bone resorption) and frictional white lesion.
