Aim: This study presents an innovative technique of correction of cranioplasty sequelae by lipo-filling in 9 patients treated for cranioplasty in childhood with a long-term follow-up.
Patients and methods: A prospective study was conducted from January 2001 to February 2005, including all patients treated with lipo-filling technique in the Plastic Surgery department of Lille. For a period of 4 years and 5 months, 144 patients were operated on with 206 lipo-filling procedures: 30 patients for cosmetic purposes and 114 patients for reconstructive surgery. In the current investigation, we examined the 9 cases of lipo-filling which were performed in complement to craniofacial surgery. All patients presented with a sub-cutaneous fronto-temporal deformation which in 3 of the cases was associated to a frontal medial defect. The assessment of results was performed in the context of post-operative follow-up visits by an observer.
Results: Nine patients, with a mean age of 16,7 years and a ratio of 1 female for 2 males underwent a total of 17 lipo-filling procedures. The mean time lapse was 15,06 months. 9 patients judged the result to be good. No complication was observed.
Conclusion: The S.R. Coleman technique of fat grafting seems to offer several advantages, namely the simplicity of the procedure itself, its apparent innocuity, its reproducibility, as well as patients and surgeons satisfaction. It appears to be an alternative of choice in the corrective surgery of craniosynostosis.