Management of complex craniofacial deformities in the neonatal setting
can pose daunting reconstructive challenges due to the limited supply
of autogenous bone. We present a patient who was born with idiopathic
nonsyndromal pansynostosis and the associated kleeblattschadel skull
deformity. In this setting the patient's initial evaluation was sugges
tive of raised intracranial pressure and, as such, an emergent decompr
ession was required. The native bone was unsuitable for reconstruction
. Therefore, an allogenic demineralized perforated cortical iliac bone
graft was used as the cornerstone of the reconstruction. Subsequent 2
-year follow-up utilizing both clinical and microscopic evaluation rev
ealed excellent osseous integration of the demineralized bone implant
with near-total transformation into living bone. This clinical success
has encouraged us to increase our utilization of this bone substitute
in the neonatal setting.