Distraction osteogenesis, also called callus distraction,[1] callotasis[1] and osteodistraction[2] is a surgical process used to reconstruct skeletal deformities and lengthen the long bones of the body. A corticotomy is used to fracture the bone into two segments, and the two bone ends of the bone are gradually moved apart during the distraction phase, allowing new bone to form in the gap.[1][3][4] When the desired or possible length is reached, a consolidation phase follows in which the bone is allowed to keep healing. Distraction osteogenesis has the benefit of simultaneously increasing bone length and the volume of surrounding soft tissues.
Although distraction technology has been used mainly in the field of orthopedics, early results in rats[5] and humans[6] indicated that the process can be applied to correct deformities of the jaw. These techniques are now utilised extensively by maxillofacial surgeons for the correction of micrognathia, midface, and fronto-orbital hypoplasia in patients with craniofacial deformities.
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