CRYOPRESERVATION OF THE AUTOLOGOUS BONE FLAP AFTER DECOMPRESSIVE CRANIECTOMY, INITIAL EXPERIENCE OF MOHAMMED THE 6TH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF MARRAKECH

Cranial bone flaps are removed urgently by neurosurgeons when a cerebral decompressive craniectomy is necessary. They can be preserved either in subcutaneous abdominal tissue, or by cryopreservation. In the latter case, the flaps are packed dry in a sterile container and transported to the human tissue bank. After checking the sterility of a bone sample, the cranial flaps are kept dry and frozen at -80 ? C while waiting subsequent implantation when the patient's clinical condition improves. In this report, we present the first two cases of autologous bone cranioplasty after cryopreservation of the cranial flap in the human tissue bank of Mohammed the VI University Hospital of Marrakech.