Reconstructing the human face by using the tissue-integrated prosthesis.

Reconstructing the human face with autogenous tissue is extremely difficult. A prosthetic device is often used, but retention is a problem. The tissue-integrated prosthesis has resolved this issue, however, and the technique is currently available worldwide. The tissue-integrated prosthesis--that is, a prosthesis supported (retained) by osseointegrated implants in the underlying bone--originated during the 1950s, when Brånemark began his laboratory studies of tissue healing in Sweden. The term "osseointegration" was introduced in 1977 and later was defined as "direct anchorage of an implant by the formation of bony tissue around the implant without the growth of fibrous tissue at the bone-implant interface." Early studies during the 1980s and 1990s documented the success of reconstruction of the human face with use of the tissue-integrated prosthesis. Herein we describe three cases in which this reconstructive procedure was successful.