The Repair of Cranial Defects With Tantalum

The surgeon planning repair of a cranial defect has a large number of methods from which to choose. At the present time the most favored technics are those which employ autogenous tissues, particularly bone and cartilage. However, the use of substances alien to the host has continued despite the popular aversion to the production of a foreign body reaction. Furthermore, enthusiasm for the alloplastic materials has recently been revived by the encouraging reports of Geib,1Beck2and Peyton and Hall3on the repair of cranial defects with vitallium. In this paper certain observations on the experimental and clinical use of tantalum for this purpose are reported. Before I discuss the alloplastic methods it is well to consider the advantages and disadvantages attending the use of autografts. Bone is obtained either from the adjacent skull, with the Müller-König technic or one of its modifications, or from the ribs,