Patients who have worn the halo-device reported feeling no pain when the screws and wires were tightened, and compared the procedure to the way braces tighten teeth. Aside from weekly check-ups at Rush, the patients make daily adjustments to the halo device at home. Patients have reported seeing physical improvements in just two weeks. Dr. Polley reports that distraction osteogenesis is now a standard treatment for severe craniofacial deformities and used at medical centers around the world. For most patients, it provides a simpler, more effective alternative to repeated, painful bone grafts major surgeries in which deformities are corrected using bones from other parts of the body.
Distraction is less invasive, and the results are more stable and longer-lasting.
It allows the body to fix the deformity by generating new bone precisely where it is needed. Under the direction of Polley and Figueroa, the center offers a comprehensive approach for children and adults with all forms of facial deformities. Professionals from fields such as neurosurgery, pediatrics, pediatric otolaryngology, speech and language pathology, nursing, dentistry, social work and genetics work together to meet the unique needs of each patient and family. There are over 70,000 American born in the last decade with craniofacial abnormalities severe enough to require surgery.