The coronoid process as a new donor source for autogenous bone grafts for reconstructing orbital and midface defects

Reconstructing orbital or midface defects by means of autogenous bone graft is a question of a well suited donor area. Several approaches in harvesting bone grafts from the calvarian or the illiac crest demonstrated that the grafts did not fit in shape or thickness. Also, the retromolar region as a donor area lead to structural loss of stability with the risk of spontaneous fractures of the mandible. Therefore, we present a new technique of harvesting an autogenous bone graft from the lateral cortical layer of the coronoid process. This region is a well suited donor area because of its easy accessibility, the good shape and thickness of the graft and its corticocancellous nature.