[Supplementation of cranial defects by an autologous bone flap stored in the abdominal wall].

Background And Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present an alternative method of cranioplasty with the use of an autologous cranial bone flap stored between primary and restorative surgery in the subcutaneous pocket in the lateral hypogastric region.

Material And Methods: Between January 1999 and April 2002, in the Department of Neurosurgery of Medical University of Łódź we performed 36 procedures of the bone flap implantation into the abdominal subcutaneous fat tissue. These procedures followed craniectomy, mainly in cases of acute subdural hematomas and ruptured intracranial aneurysms.