LAUSR

SUMMARY Conventional methods to reconstruct cortical bone defects introduced by pediatric cranial vault remodeling (CVR) procedures have shortcomings. Use of bone burr shavings as graft material leads to variable ossification and harvesting split-thickness cortical grafts is time-intensive and often not possible in thin infant calvaria. Since 2013, our team has used the Geistlich SafeScraper (Baden-Baden, Germany), originally developed as a dental instrument, to harvest cortical and cancellous bone grafts during CVR. We assessed the effectiveness of this technique by analyzing postoperative ossification using computed tomography (CT) scans among 52 patients, comparing cohorts treated with the SafeScraper versus those who received conventional methods of cranioplasty during fronto-orbital advancement (FOA). The SafeScraper cohort had a greater reduction in total surface area of all defects (-83.1 ± 14.9 versus -68.9 ± 29.8%, p = 0.034), demonstrating a greater and more consistent degree of cranial defect ossification compared to conventional methods of cranioplasty, suggesting potential adaptability of this tool. This is the first study that describes the technique and efficacy of the SafeScraper in reducing cranial defects in CVR.