BRIDGED CRANIOTOMY FOR STABLE FIXATION OF A BONE FLAP

Postoperative depression of the bone flap is a common and bothersome p roblem in craniotomies. In this paper, a simple technique to avoid thi s deformity is described. The key to this technique is to leave uncut a part of each osteotomy approximately 5 mm in width as a ''bridge'' t o the bone flap, which is then subsequently cut with the aid of a chis el. This technique provides stable fixation of the bone flap and satis factory cosmetic results with little additional operating time.