Bone-anchored craniofacial prosthesis study: irradiated patients.

A prospective study involving 24 treatment centers and 145 patients was conducted to evaluate the long-term osseointegration success rate for titanium implants anchoring a craniofacial prosthesis (auricular, orbital, and nasal), and to evaluate the long-term retention and stability of the prosthesis. Twenty patients (14%) in this study had received prior irradiation therapy, and 60 implants were placed in these 20 irradiated patients. Nine of the 60 implants were lost (85% survival rate). Although the few patients and few implants may not allow for conclusions to be drawn, analysis and review of the data on these irradiated patients may assist in reliable and valid comparisons to be made with other published studies.