Bone Cements in Depressed Frontal Bone Fractures.

Skull fractures can be classified into four major types; linear, depressed, diastatic, and basilar. Of these, a depressed skull fracture presents a high risk of increased intracranial pressure or hemorrhage to the brain. A compound depressed skull fracture results when a laceration over the fracture exposes the internal cranial cavity to the outside environment. Such depressed skull fractures are indicated for elevation if the defect is more than 10 mm and in the presence of brain injury. Frontal bone contour defects result in marked facial deformity which becomes obvious to the observer. Esthetic correction of the depressed frontal bone fracture can be done with autogenous bone grafts or alloplastic materials. Autogenous bone grafts are meant to be the gold standard method of reconstruction, but they harbor the risk of donor-site morbidity. There are various materials available for the reconstruction of depressed frontal bone fractures. This is a case report which illustrates the use of easily injectable, self-setting calcium phosphate bone cement in the correction of a depressed frontal bone fracture measuring approximately 3 cm × 2.5 cm × 1.5 cm.

"Histiocytosis X" - A Rare Case Report.

Histiocytosis X is an idiopathic disease, characterized by a disorder of the reticulo-endothelial system in the human body. Histopathological studies carried out right from the 1800s have seen a significant similarity in the pathologic process of different stages in particular clinical syndromes showing proliferation of mature histiocytes. It was then modified by Lichenstein in 1953 as "Histiocytosis X". The exact aetiology is unknown; hence, the name "Histiocytosis X". The disease classically presents with three syndromes namely Eosinophilic granuloma, Letterer-Siwe disease and Hand-Schuller-Christian disease. These syndromes present with a spectrum of clinical manifestations with histiocytic proliferation in the granulomatous lesion. The disease is neither familial nor hereditary, nor does it have any microbiological pathologic origin. This disease can be conservatively managed by antibiotics and steroids or surgical curettage with radiotherapy. We report a five-year-old male child who was incidentally diagnosed to have Histiocytosis X. This patient was managed with a moderate surgical procedure with total avoidance of radiotherapy. An adequate follow-up of this patient shows total regression of the lesion and good bone healing.