What Makes the Calvaria a Privileged Site for Bone Graft Survival?

摘要

Removal and subsequent replacement of segments of cranial vault as functional bone grafts in the course of craniofacial or neurosurgical procedures causes destruction of resident bone cells owing to devascularization, ischemia, and tissue dessication. Elsewhere in the body, re-sorption or necrosis would result. The survival of such grafts in the calvarium indicates that local tissue factors may make this a privileged site for bone graft survival. Prior studies have emphasized the importance of the dura in preservation of calvaria following surgical removal and replacement.'-2 However, the relative role of the pericranium, and the effect of adjacent tissues on osteoblast survival, remains unclear. The present study was performed in order to isolate the effects of the dura versus the pericranium and to distinguish between the osteogen-ic properties of fresh grafts containing viable osteoblasts versus frozen bone grafts in which the osteoblasts have been rendered non-viable.