The comparative strength of laryngeal fracture fixation.

Purpose: To assess the fixation strength provided by miniplate fixation, wire-tube batten fixation, and wire fixation alone in repair of thyroid cartilage.

Materials And Methods: Segments 2.5-cm wide x 1-cm long were cut from three fresh, frozen, human cadaveric larynges from an 83-year-old man, a 58-year-old woman, and an unknown cadaver.

Hydroxyapatite cement in craniofacial skeletal reconstruction and its effects on the developing craniofacial skeleton.

Objective: To assess the effects of hydroxyapatite cement (HAC) on the developing feline craniofacial skeleton.

Design: Fronto-orbital craniotomies were performed on 14 kittens and reconstructed by autograft or HAC. By design, animals in which the craniofacial skeleton was reconstructed with HAC also underwent obliteration of the left frontal sinus.

Polymeric implants in craniomaxillofacial reconstruction.

With advances in polymer chemistry, polymeric implants are becoming an increasingly attractive alternative to autogenous bone. Although polymeric implants were traditionally used to bridge bony defects and modify the overlying soft tissue envelope, new resorbable polymers may allow bony replacement and may be used as alternatives to metals in rigid fixation. This article contains an overview of polymeric implants from acrylics to modern resorbable polymers.