Product donation benefits humanitarian mission

Led by Dr Milan Jugan, INTERFACE enables clinicians to reduce morbidity and patient risk by providing safer alveolar cleft grafting, rather than the anterior iliac crest harvests used previously.

“We are extremely grateful to RIEMSER for supplying materials that have enabled us to develop these procedures that clearly reduce risk to the patients and decrease their recovery time,” Dr Jugan said.

The oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) team of humanitarian group INTERFACE has been led by Jugan since 2002, with the assistance of Dr John Gordon, Dr Erik Felder and surgical assistant Susan Henkle.

The INTERFACE International Surgical Program provides volunteer plastic surgery teams that perform reconstructive surgery in Mexico for children with congenital and acquired deformities.

The most recent trip, which occurred this spring, took place just one week after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Fortunately, Cruz Roja Hospital was determined to be safe.

Because most of these patients cannot be prepared for surgery with orthodontic therapy that would be typical in the United States, the medical team has developed an effective, four-part grafting process to stabilize the premaxilla and provide a pathway for the eruption of permanent teeth:

• After preparing the soft tissue, the surgeons use OsteoSponge to provide the bulk of the framework for the graft.
• They then build up the site using a mixture of AlloSorb allograft and Cerasorb M grafting material to bulk out the cleft site and form it into the shape of an alveolar ridge.
• Next, OsteoSponge, a BMP-2 collagen sponge shaped like a cube, is placed over the graft to provide a framework for bone formation.
• To complete the surgery, the soft tissue is closed and allowed to heal.

Vince Ellero, RIEMSER’s director of national sales, said, “We have been pleased to be able to assist INTERFACE in its good works for youngsters in the Mexicali area, especially since these surgeries can lead to dramatically improved future dental health.”

RIEMSER has a product portfolio including Cerasorb M grafting material, EpiGuide membrane, AlloSorb allograft, REVOIS implant system, CollaGuide collagen membrane, and the Bacterin family of products, including OsteoSponge Block, OsteoSponge Filler, OsteoWrap and D-Block.

(Edited by Fred Michmershuizen, DTA)