CARTILAGE TRANSFORMATION IN A COMPOSITE GRAFT OF DEMINERALIZED BOVINEBONE-MATRIX AND EAR PERICHONDRIUM USED IN A CHILD FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE NASAL-SEPTUM

For the first time it was observed in a boy that a xenogenic implant o f demineralized bovine bone matrix, enfolded in a pedicled flap of aut ogenic ear perichondrium, was transformed into autogenic cartilage. Th is new cartilage could be adequately used as a graft to bridge the car tilaginous defect of a nasal septum perforation. The defect was succes sfully closed by a technique employing four bipedicled mucosal advance ment flaps of the septum and the nasal floor. The result of this pilot study, which is based on experiments in growing rabbits, appears to o pen the possibility to create de novo young and growing autogenic cart ilage of substantial quantity in children, without the loss of the car tilage present.