Bone Grafting Oral Surgery in West Houston, TX
Bone grafting is a surgical procedure by which new bone or a replacement material is placed into spaces between or around broken bone or holes in bone to assist in healing.Bone grafting can be used to repair bone fractures that are extremely complex, pose a risk to the patient, or fail to heal properly on their own.
New bone for grafting can be obtained from other bones in the patient's own body, called autograft, or from bone taken from other people that is frozen and stored in tissue banks, called allograft. A variety of natural and synthetic replacement materials are also used instead of bone, including collagen, polymers, such as silicone and some acrylics.
To place the graft, the surgeon makes an incision in the skin over the bone defect and shapes the bone graft or replacement material to fit into the patients defect. After the graft is placed into the defect, it is held in place with pins, plates, or screws. The incision is closed with stitches and a splint or cast is used to prevent movement of the bones while healing.
Most bone grafts are successful in helping the bone defect to heal. The extent of recovery will depend on the size of the defect and the condition of the bone surrounding the graft at the time of surgery. Severe defects may take some longer to heal and may require further attention after the initial graft. Less severe bone defects, should heal completely without serious complications.
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