Micro-structured β-TCP for repair of the alveolar cleft in patients with cleft of lip, alveolus and palate

Over six chapters this doctoral thesis straightforwardly describes the story of the analysis of the visual and model material of those children with cleft of lip, alveolus and palate (CLP) who were treated at the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital at the UMC Utrecht between 1990 and 2008 in accordance with the current protocols. It then goes on to examine the question - how can we do it better? A bone substitute micro-structured β-TCP is compared with and considered as an alternative to autologous bone transplant (Chapter 3). Then the use of the goat as an experimental animal model, and a split mouth study in goats to compare iliac crest bone transplants with the bone substitute micro-structured β-TCP (Chapter 4) are described. The step to the human situation is taken after retrospective examination of the filling of the chin bone harvesting site with Spongostan (Chapter 5). A comparable prospective study of the results of filling the harvesting site with β-TCP which was new in children (Chapter 6). The final chapter concerns a pilot study (N=6) which looks at the results of the implantation of micro-structured β-TCP in the alveolar cleft itself (Chapter 7)