Background: Ultimate repair of alveolar defects is a great
challenge in practical field, many bone graft materials have
been evolved in the literatures for alveolar defect reconstruction
as autogenous, allogenic, xenogenic, and alloplastic grafts
[1], autogenous iliac crest bone graft is the gold standard
among other graft materials evaluated. However, the procedure
associated with a potential risk of early complications such
as graft resorption, graft leakage, infection, or graft failure,
failure rate is about 30% [2].
Objectives: To assess the efficacy of using Platelet Rich
Plasma (PRP) in alveolar cleft reconstruction; in combination
with Iliac Crest Bone Graft (ICBG) in comparison to the
conventional Iliac Crest Bone Grafting (ICBG).
Patients and Methods: 20 patients underwent alveolar
cleft reconstruction at the age of mixed dentition over a 3-
year's period; their mean age was 8.8±2.3 years years and
their mean post-operative follow-up was 13.4 months. Of
these, 10 patients treated with ICBG combined with PRP
(Group I), and 10 patients repaired by ICBG alone Group II
(control group) results were assessed by rating the radiographs
obtained 3, 6, and 12 months post-operatively according to
cone beam CT (CBCT) volume and density assessment.
Results: Alveolar cleft repairs using PRP combined cancellous
bone (Group I) were 90 percent successful, alveolar
cleft repairs using cancellous bone (Group I) were 70 percent
successful as regard; bone resorption reduction, bone volume
gaining and improved bone density in CBCT at 3, 6, and 12
months post-operative with decreased post-operative complication
rates.
Conclusion: Application of PRP enhances bone formation
in alveolar clefts when admixed with autologous bone graft
harvested from the iliac crest as it leads to early bone formation,
increased bone density, decreases bone resorption, low infection
rate and least post-operative complications.