Craniofacial contouring and porous acrylic cement.

Porous acrylic cement permitting ingrowth of soft and hard tissue was developed in the mid-1970s. After several years of animal experimentation, a clinical trial started in 1978. Twenty-nine selected patients had craniofacial contouring with in situ curing porous acrylic cement. It is an easy one-stage procedure with a good fixation of the prosthesis. The result is a definite good contour reconstruction. It offers the craniofacial surgeon a useful alternative in selected cases when autogenous bone grafting or an intracranial approach is not indicated or not sought by the patient.