SEGMENTAL MANDIBULAR RECONSTRUCTION BY DISTRACTION OSTEOGENESIS

Abstract

The mandible has a great importance, both functionally and esthetically, as it constitutes the lower face skeleton. Defects ofthe mandible may be due to congenital, traumatic, or neoplastic insult. The methods to reconstruct mandibular defects are in a continuous update whenever a new way of reconstruction evolves. The modalities of mandibular reconstruction are ranging from the conventional bone graft, alloplastic reconstruction, complete tissue transfer, whether pedicled or free, till reach the distraction osteogenesis (DO) in the last decade.

Although long bones distraction osteogenesis has started long time ago, maxillofacial distraction is recently developed. Being in its infancy, mandibular distraction osteogenesis still a matter of discussion. Many researchers have investigated distraction osteogenesis experimentally and clinically to improve the clinical parameters and outcomes for successful mandibular distraction of human being. Large animals' studies have served this task plentifully.

A little was known about the mechanistic pathways of mandibular DO, this is in great part was due to lack of antibodies probes immunologic reagents for large animals to be used for this purpose. As rats are usually used for molecular studies of various phenomena, the rat is thought to be a proper experimental model for in vivo study of cellular changes that accompany mandibular distraction.