Clinical Use of Deferoxamine in Distraction Osteogenesis of Irradiated Bone

The deleterious effects of radiotherapy, including hypovascularity and hypocellularity, have made distraction of irradiated bones challenging. Animal studies, however, have demonstrated adjunctive measures such as the administration of deferoxamine to significantly improve bone regeneration across irradiated distraction gaps. In this report, the authors demonstrate, for the first time, enhanced bone formation following deferoxamine application in a patient following distraction of a previously irradiated maxilla. Computed tomography imaging of the pterygomaxillary buttress on the side of administration revealed significantly increased bone area and density relative to the contralateral buttress. This is the first presentation of clinical deferoxamine use to promote bone formation following irradiated bone distraction and highlights the promise for this adjunctive measure to make outcomes after distraction of irradiated bone more reliable.