RIEMSER Donates Bone-Grafting Products to INTERFACE Mexico Humanitarian Mission
RIEMSER, Inc., a leader in oral surgery technology, has again donated OsteoSponge® Block, a demineralized particulate allograft, to INTERFACE’s International Surgical Program for its bi-annual humanitarian mission to Mexicali, Mexico, for patients needing alveolar cleft grafting.
For the last three years, RIEMSER has provided products to INTERFACE’s Oral & Maxillofacial team, led by Dr. Milan Jugan, enabling doctors to reduce morbidity and patient risk by providing safer alveolar cleft grafting, rather than the anterior iliac crest harvests used previously.
The most recent trip, in April 2010, occurred just one week after the magnitude-7.2 earthquake. Fortunately, Cruz Roja Hospital was determined to be safe.
Since 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.
1. After preparing the soft tissue, the surgeons use OsteoSponge to provide the bulk of the framework for the graft.
2. They then build up the site using a mixture of AlloSorbTMallograft and Cerasorb® M grafting material to bulk out the cleft site and form it into the shape of an alveolar ridge.
3. Next, OsteoSponge, a BMP-2 collagen sponge shaped like a cube, is placed over the graft to provide a framework for bone formation.
4. To complete the surgery, the soft tissue is closed and allowed to heal.
According to Dr. Jugan, "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."
Vince Ellero, RIEMSER’s Director of National Sales, adds, "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 Inc., based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, has a product portfolio including Cerasorb® M grafting material, EpiGuide® membrane, AlloSorbTMallograft, REVOIS® implant system, CollaGuideTMcollagen membrane, and the Bacterin family of products, including OsteoSponge® Block, OsteoSponge® Filler, OsteoWrap®, and D-Block.
The Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (OMS) team of humanitarian group INTERFACE has been led by Dr. 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.
Source:
RIEMSER, Inc.
