Percutaneous osseointegrated implant surgery without skin thinning in children: a retrospective case review.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the follow-up status of osseointegration in children and to see if the omission of skin thinning in percutaneous osseointegrated implant surgery can be beneficial for children, 2 groups of children who underwent surgery with and without skin thinning were compared. STUDY DESIGN: This was a single-center, retrospective case review at a university hospital designed to assess the outcome of a new technique for percutaneous osseointegrated implantation in children. MATERIAL: Thirty-four children who had undergone implantation from 2001 to 2012 were included in the study. The 2 groups were divided according to whether skin thinning was used. METHODS: Percutaneous osseointegrated implantation was performed in 1- or 2-step surgeries on patients under general anesthesia. Twenty-three patients were operated with traditional skin thinning and with a 5.5- mm long abutment, 10 patients were operated without thinning and with a 6-, 8.5-, or 9-mm-long abutment, and 1 patient was lost. Primary points of interest were clinical signs and symptoms of inflammation or infection at the site of skin penetration, time required for surgery, healing time, and any additional complications experienced by the patients. RESULTS: The group of children who underwent surgery without thinning and with shorter follow-up time experienced fewer complications, shorter time for surgery, minimized healing time, no numbness, and improved cosmetic appeal in comparison with the group that underwent the traditional skin thinning procedure. CONCLUSION: The percutaneous osseointegrated implantation technique without skin thinning that has recently been implemented in adults is also beneficial for children.