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Individuals 65 years or older will comprise an estimated 20.0% of the U.S. population by 2030. This study investigated the association between food insecurity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among an older adult population (n = 234). HRQoL was measured using Healthy Days, a validated survey tool developed by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Food-insecure individuals were more likely to report ≥14 physically unhealthy days (OR = 1.49, 95% CI 0.47-4.78) and ≥14 days with activity limitations (OR = 4.07, 95% CI 0.68-24.1). Although nonsignificant, the findings highlight food insecurity as a potentially important social determinant of health throughout the life course, including at an older age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resilience is often referred to when assessing the ability of health systems to maintain their functions during unexpected events. Primary healthcare forms the basis for the health system and thus its resilient responses are vital for the outcomes of the whole system. Understanding how primary healthcare organisations are able to build resilience before, during, and after unexpected or sudden shocks, is key to public health preparedness. This study aims to identify how leaders responsible for local health systems interpreted changes in their operational environment during the first year of COVID-19, and to elucidate how these views reflect aspects of resilience in healthcare., Methods: The data consist of 14 semi-structured individual interviews with leaders of local health systems in Finland representing primary healthcare. The participants were recruited from four regions. An abductive thematic analysis was used to identify entities from the viewpoints of the purpose, resources, and processes of resilience in the healthcare organisation., Results: Results were summarised as six themes, which suggest that embracing uncertainty is viewed by the interviewees a basis for primary healthcare functioning. Leading towards adaptability was regarded a distinct leadership task enabling the organisation to modify its functions according to demands of the changing operational environment. Workforce, knowledge and sensemaking, as well as collaboration represented what the leaders viewed as the means for achieving adaptability. The ability to adapt functioned to comprehensively meet the population's service needs built on a holistic approach., Conclusions: The results showed how the leaders who participated in this study adapted their work during changes brought on by the pandemic, and what they viewed as critical for maintaining organisational resilience. The leaders considered embracing uncertainty as a principal feature of their work rather than viewing uncertainty as aberrant and something to avoid. These notions, along with what the leaders considered as critical means for building resilience and adaptability should be addressed and elaborated in future research. Research on resilience and leadership should be conducted more in the complex context of primary healthcare, where cumulative stresses are encountered and processed continuously., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Power and politics are both critical concepts to engage with in health systems and policy research, as they impact actions, processes, and outcomes at all levels in health systems. Building on the conceptualization of health systems as social systems, we investigate how power and politics manifested in the Finnish health system during COVID-19, posing the following research question: in what ways did health system leaders and experts experience issues of power and politics during COVID-19, and how did power and politics impact health system governance? We completed online interviews with health system leaders and experts (n = 53) at the local, regional, and national level in Finland from March 2021 to February 2022. The analysis followed an iterative thematic analysis process in which the data guided the codebook. The results demonstrate that power and politics affected health system governance in Finland during COVID-19 in a multitude of ways. These can be summarized through the themes of credit and blame, frame contestation, and transparency and trust. Overall, political leaders at the national level were heavily involved in the governance of COVID-19 in Finland, which was perceived as having both negative and positive impacts. The politicization of the pandemic took health officials and civil servants by surprise, and events during the first year of COVID-19 in Finland reflect recurring vertical and horizontal power dynamics between local, regional, and national actors. The paper contributes to the growing call for power-focused health systems and policy research. The results suggest that analyses of pandemic governance and lessons learned are likely to leave out critical factors if left absent of an explicit analysis of power and politics, and that such analyses are needed to ensure accountability in health systems., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to elucidate facilitators and barriers to health system resilience and resilient responses at local and regional levels during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland., Design/methodology/approach: The authors utilized a qualitative research approach and conducted semi-structured interviews ( n  = 32) with study participants representing five different regions in Finland. Study participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. All study participants had been in management and civil servant positions during the first year of the pandemic, representing municipalities, municipalities' social and healthcare services, hospital districts and regional state administrative agencies. All interviews were completed remotely from April to December 2021 and the recordings transcribed verbatim. The authors coded the transcripts in ATLAS.ti 9.1 using directed content analysis., Findings: The findings highlighted a wide range of localized responses to the pandemic in Finland. Facilitators to health system resilience included active networks of cooperation, crisis anticipation, transitioning into crisis leadership mode, learning how to incorporate new modes of operation, as well as relying on the competencies and motivation of health workforce. The authors found several barriers to health system resilience, including fragmented organization and management particularly in settings where integrated health care systems were not in place, insufficient preparedness to a prolonged crisis, lack of reliable information regarding COVID-19, not having plans in place for crisis communication, pandemic fatigue, and outflux of health workforce to other positions with better compensation and working conditions., Originality/value: Factors affecting health system resilience are often studied at the aggregate level of a nation. This study offers insights into what resilient responses look like from the perspective of local and regional actors in a decentralized health system. The results highlight that local capacities and context matter greatly for resilience. The authors call for more nuanced analyses on health systems and health system resilience at the sub-national level., (© Emerald Publishing Limited.)

The United States lags in life expectancy compared to most of the world's similarly wealthy nations, driven by pronounced regional disparities particularly between the South and the rest of the country. The U.S. South has a violent history of lynchings of Black Americans by White mobs after the ending of slavery and up to the Civil Rights Era. Building on critical race scholarship, the objective of this study was to determine whether there exists an association between historical lynchings and overall life expectancies in the U.S. South. We created a cross-sectional county-level data set with 1221 data points utilizing data from the Equal Justice Initiative and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Country Health Rankings. The average life expectancy for 2019-2020 was 76.1 years, ranging from 68.2 years to 90.2 years. Overall life expectancy was found to be highest (76.6) in counties with no recorded lynchings, and lowest (75.5) in counties with the most lynchings (p < .001). In the spatially enabled regression model, the history of lynching along with other covariates explained 57.1% of the variance in life expectancies across the study area. Counties with a history of lynchings also score lower compared to the reference group in various socioeconomic indicators, including median household incomes and high school graduation rates. The findings suggest that lynchings were pivotal in creating the social and physical environment affecting health outcomes in the U.S. South today. We call for further public health research which acknowledges and explores this form of violent and institutional anti-Black racism as foundational to the nation's regional health disparities., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Introduction: Leaders in postgraduate medical education are responsible for implementing educational change. Although difficulties in implementing change are described both in the general leadership literature as well as in the field of medical education, knowledge of what characterises successful change leadership in postgraduate medical education is limited. The aim of this study is to explore the process used by educational leaders in successful change implementation in postgraduate medical education., Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 programme directors to explore how they had implemented successful change projects. The sample consisted of programme directors who had reported in a previous survey having high educational impact at their workplace. Interviews were analysed using Ödman's qualitative interpretative method., Results: The interviews identified similarities in how participating programme directors had implemented changes. Five interconnected themes crystallised from the data: (1) belonging to a group, (2) having a vision and meaning, (3) having a mandate for change, (4) involving colleagues and superiors, and (5) having a long-term perspective., Conclusions: Our findings illuminate important aspects of successful change management in postgraduate medical education. Change is ideally based on a clear vision and is implemented in coalition with others. A long-term strategy should be planned, including involvement and anchoring of key persons in several discrete steps as change is implemented. While some of these findings are congruent with the general literature on change management, this study emphasises the importance of a mandate, with successful change leadership dependent on coalition and the facilitation provided by the next level of leadership.

Background: There are examples of incongruence between the WHO grade and clinical course in meningioma patients. This incongruence between WHO grade and recurrence has led to search for other prognostic histological markers., Objective: To study the correlation between the Ki-67 proliferative index (PI), risk of recurrence, and recurrence rates in meningioma patients., Methods: We prospectively collected pathological diagnosis of de novo consecutive meningiomas. In total, we followed 159 patients with clinical controls until recurrence, death, or emigration. We estimated the correlation between risk of recurrence and Ki-67 PI when adjusted for age at diagnosis, sex, WHO grade, extent of surgical resection, and tumor location. We estimated the cumulative incidence of recurrence when considering death without recurrence a competing risk. We report recurrence rates per 100 person-years., Results: A 1%-point increase of Ki-67 PI yielded a hazard ratio of 1.12 (95% CI: 1.01-1.24) in a multivariate analysis. The cumulative incidence of recurrence was 3% for Ki-67 0% to 4% vs 19% for Ki-67 > 4% meningiomas after 1 yr, but 24% vs 35%, respectively, after 10 yr. There was no significant difference in mean Ki-67 PI between nonrecurrent and recurrent meningioma in a 2-sample t-test (P = .08). The strongest relationship was detected between Ki-67 PI and time to recurrence: Ki-67 < 4% meningiomas recurred after median 4.8 yr, compared to 0.60 to 0.75 yr for patients with higher Ki-67 PI., Conclusion: Ki-67 PI was a marker for time to recurrence rather than a predictor of recurrence. Ki-67 PI may be utilized for patient tailored follow-up., (Copyright © 2020 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.)

Purpose: This evaluation describes efforts taken by MIECHV administrators and staff during the pandemic using data collected from 60 MIECHV staff surveys and nine statewide weekly focus groups., Description: The Florida Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Initiative funds perinatal home visiting for pregnant women and families with infants throughout the state. Florida MIECHV has shown resilience to disasters and times of crises in the past, while generating a culture of adaptation and continuous quality improvement among local implementing agencies. Florida MIECHV responded to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis within the first few days of the first reported case in Florida by providing guidance on virtual home visits and working remotely., Assessment: Findings highlight the role of administrative leadership and communication, staff willingness/morale, logistical considerations, and the needs of enrolled families who face hardships during the pandemic such as job loss, limited supplies, food insecurity, technology limitations, and stress. Home visitors support enrolled families by connecting them with resources, providing public health education and delivering evidence-based home visiting curricula virtually. They also recognized the emotional burden surrounding COVID-19 impacts and uncertainties along with achieving work-life balance by caring for their own children., Conclusion: This evaluation helped in understanding the impact of the pandemic on this maternal and child health program and fundamentals of transition to virtual home visiting services. Virtual home visiting appears to be feasible and provides an essential connection to supports for families who may not otherwise have the means or knowledge to access them.

Background: Educational leaders have been pointed out as being important for quality of medical education. However, their actual influence on the education can be limited. At the postgraduate level, educational leadership and its connection with quality is underexplored and knowledge about how to increase its impact is lacking. An increased understanding could be used in order to prioritize actions for strengthening the role. The aim of this study was to investigate factors related to the role of programme director associated with quality in postgraduate medical education., Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out. A questionnaire was sent to programme directors in Sweden (n = 519) comprising questions about background factors, work characteristics, work tasks, hindering and enabling factors, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. A logistic regression and classification tree were used to identify factors associated with high qualitative education, defined as compliance with national regulations., Results: The response rate was 54% (n = 279). In total, 62% of the programme directors reported high quality and factors associated with high quality included experiences of communication with residents, superiors and supervisors, and support from the supervisors. Other factors were consensus regarding postgraduate medical education at the workplace, adequate financial resources, the programme directors' competence, and their perceived impact on education. Factors of particular importance seemed to differ depending on whether the programme directors were responsible for one or for multiple units. Most high-quality education was found in cases where programme directors were responsible for a single unit and perceived sufficient impact on education., Conclusions: These results indicated that there was an association between factors related to programme director and quality in postgraduate medical education. The findings pointed out the importance of combining activities at both individual, group and organizational levels. Relational aspects should not be underestimated; faculty development and involvement are crucial.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) are a significant risk in cranioplasty, with reported rates of around 8-9%. The most common bacteria associated with these nosocomial infections are of the Staphylococcus species, which have the ability to form biofilm. The possibility to deliver antibiotics, such as gentamicin, locally rather than systemically could potentially lower the early postoperative SSI. Various antibiotic dosages are being applied clinically, without any true consensus on the effectiveness., Methods: Drug release from calcium phosphate (CaP), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), and titanium (Ti) samples was evaluated. Microbiological studies with Staphylococcus aureus (SA) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) including strains from clinical infection were used to establish clinically relevant concentrations., Results: The CaP samples were able to retain and release gentamicin overtime, whereas the Ti and PEEK samples did not show any drug uptake or release. A gentamicin loading concentration of 400 μg/ml was shown to be effective in in vitro microbiological studies with both SA and SE., Conclusions: Out of the three materials studied, only CaP could be loaded with gentamicin. An initial loading concentration of 400 μg/ml appears to establish an effective gentamicin concentration, possibly translating into a clinical benefit in cranioplasty.

Background: Medical education leaders are important for educational quality in postgraduate medical education. Their work tasks are complex and contain different components. However, factors that are influencing leaders´ effectiveness in completing these tasks are unexplored. Understanding and developing these factors is most likely essential to strengthen postgraduate medical education and to consequently improve the quality in health care delivery. This study explores the experiences of factors that influence effectiveness of clinical consultants responsible for postgraduate medical education at clinical departments. Effectiveness was defined as fulfillment of work tasks., Methods: A qualitative study was performed with data gathered through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 17 consultants responsible for postgraduate medical education. Data was analyzed by qualitative content analysis., Results: Findings clustered into four themes of factors influencing effectiveness: individual (being an expert, social competence), relational (support and cooperation, communication), attitudinal (shared vision, organizational values, colleagues' attitudes) and structural (organizational characteristics, regulations and guidelines, conditions for the role). The factors were experienced to influence effectiveness in a positive or a negative direction., Conclusions: This study shed light on the complex and interrelated factors experienced to have impact on the role of consultant responsible for postgraduate medical education. Viewing the result through the concept of power, the role mainly relies on personal power sources like expert and referent power whereas power connected to the position often are lacking. To increase effectiveness of the role, a differentiated strategy which involves activities at both individual, group and organizational levels is needed.

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the long-term seizure control and antiepileptic drug (AED) prescriptions, as well as identifying predictors of seizure(s) before and after surgery in a population-based cohort of operated intracranial meningioma patients., Methods: A total of 113 consecutive adult (> 18 years old) patients with newly diagnosed meningioma operated at the Karolinska University Hospital between 2006 and 2008 were included and followed up until the end of 2015. Data on seizure activity and AED prescriptions were obtained through chart review and telephone interview. Logistic regression and survival analysis were applied to identify risk factors for pre- and postoperative seizures., Results: A total of 21/113 (18.6%) patients experienced seizures before surgery of which 8/21 (38.1%) went on to become seizure-free after surgery. Thirteen (14%) patients experienced new-onset seizures after surgery. The regression analysis revealed tumor diameter ≥ 3.5 cm as a risk factor for preoperative seizures (OR 3.83, 95% CI 1.14-12.87). Presence of headache (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.05-0.76) and skull base tumor location (OR 0.14, 95% CI 0.04-0.44) decreased the risk of preoperative seizures. Postoperative seizures were associated with tumor diameter ≥ 3.5 cm (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.06-6.62) and history of preoperative seizures (OR 3.50, 95% CI 1.55-7.90)., Conclusion: Seizures are common before and after intracranial meningioma surgery. Approximately one third of patients with preoperative seizures become seizure-free on long-term follow-up after surgery, while 14% experienced new-onset seizures after surgery. Larger tumor size, absence of headache, and non-skull base location were associated with preoperative seizures, while tumor size and preoperative seizures were associated with postoperative seizures.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage associated with incomplete sealing of the dura mater is a major complication of intradural procedures., Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of adjunctive TachoSil (Takeda Pharma A/S, Roskilde, Denmark) with current practice for the prevention of postoperative CSF leaks in patients undergoing elective skull base surgery involving dura mater closure., Methods: Patients were intraoperatively randomized to TachoSil or current practice immediately before primary dura closure by suturing ± duraplasty. Choice of adjunctive treatment in the current practice group was at the surgeon's discretion. Primary efficacy endpoint was occurrence of clinically evident verified postoperative CSF leak or clinically evident pseudomeningocele within 7 weeks after surgery or treatment failure (third application of trial treatment or use of other treatment)., Results: A total of 726 patients were randomized to TachoSil (n = 361) or current practice (n = 365). More current practice patients had sutures plus duraplasty for primary dura closure compared with TachoSil (49.6% vs 35.7%) and fewer had sutures only (45.5% vs 63.2%). The primary endpoint of estimated leak rate favored TachoSil with events in 25 (6.9%) patients vs 30 (8.2%) current practice patients; however, this was not statistically significant (odds ratio: 0.82; 95% confidence interval: 0.47, 1.43; P = .485). Both treatments were well tolerated with similar frequency of adverse events., Conclusion: Very low rates of postoperative CSF leaks can be achieved in patients undergoing skull base surgery of various indications. Although the study did not meet its primary endpoint, TachoSil appears to be safe and effective for the prevention of CSF leaks and associated complications., (Copyright © 2017 by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons)

Background: A programme director is often required to organise postgraduate medical education. This leadership role can include educational as well as managerial duties. Only a few published studies have explored programme directors' own perceptions of their role. There is a need to explore the use of theoretical frameworks to improve the understanding of educational roles., Objective: To explore programme directors' own perceptions of their role in terms of tasks and functions, and to relate these roles to the theoretical framework developed by Bolman and Deal., Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 programme directors between February and August 2013. The data were subjected to content analysis using a deductive approach., Results: The various roles and tasks included by participants in their perceptions of their work could be categorised within the framework of functions described by Bolman and Deal. These included: structuring the education (structural function); supporting individuals and handling relations (human resource function); negotiating between different interests (political function); and influencing the culture at the departmental level (symbolic function). The functions most often emphasised by participants were the structural and human resource functions. Some tasks involved several functions which varied over time., Conclusions: Programme directors' own perceptions of their roles, tasks and functions varied widely. The theoretical framework of Bolman and Deal might be helpful when explaining and developing these roles., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Background: Many incidental meningiomas are detected and need to be assessed for further management. Better knowledge of the long-term natural history is necessary for optimal management., Methods: We have retrospectively evaluated a cohort of consecutive patients who were referred to the authors at the Department of Neurosurgery with incidentally diagnosed asymptomatic meningiomas from 1991-1998 and followed prospectively. All patients were followed for a minimum of 10 years or until they reached the endpoint of demonstrated tumour growth or died., Results: During follow-up, 35.4 % of the tumours grew, resulting in a 75 % 15-year growth rate by life-table statistics. The growth rates were similar in smaller (<2 cm) and larger tumours, while calcified tumours grew at a lower rate. The latter difference was, however, not statistically significant., Conclusion: Long-term tumour growth of incidentally detected asymptomatic meningiomas appeared to be much higher than expected. This information needs to be considered when discussing surgery, since the indication for surgery may be stronger than previously stated, especially for younger patients with tumours that can be reached at low risk.

Background: Meningiomas with growth onto or into the major venous sinuses, that is, venous meningiomas, provide management problems regarding their radical removal and preservation of venous drainage. The relationship to venous structures often precludes radical surgery; the risk of recurrence and aggressive histology is greater for parasagittal meningiomas than in other locations. Older series reflect the conflict between radical surgery and subtotal removal followed by the "wait-and-scan" approach for the residual. This review summarizes our experience of a more contemporary series of venous meningiomas, after to the introduction of gamma-knife radiosurgery, for residual tumors and a long follow-up of 10 years., Methods: Treatment, histopathology, and follow-up data of 100 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for venous meningiomas were prospectively collected. Gamma-knife surgery was considered as a direct postsurgical adjunct or as an adjunct after a period of radiological follow-up. The proliferation marker MIB-1 was prospectively analyzed. Two patients were lost to follow-up after 5 years, and 98 were followed until their death or a minimum of 10 years., Results: The 6-month outcome was good-to-excellent in 94 patients; one patient died. Eighteen patients died within 10 years. Ten had aggressive or anaplastic meningiomas. In 10 years, tumor recurrence or progression was noted in 23 patients. One important reason was that only 42% of patients undergoing Simpson grade 1 removal had free resection margins at microscopic examination. Patients with Simpson grade 1 surgery had a recurrence rate of 10%. Patients with deliberate nonradical surgery (Simpson grade IV) had a tumor recurrence rate of 72%, whereas a combined treatment of direct gamma-knife radiosurgery after a tailored microsurgical resection (Simpson IV gamma) allowed return to a low recurrence rate of 10%. The tumor proliferation indices (MIB-1/Ki-67) were prognostically relevant for recurrence after either microsurgery or gamma-knife radiosurgery., Conclusion: Surgical microscopic radicality was unexpectedly difficult to achieve. Gamma-knife radiosurgery was a useful adjunct but only in patients with tumors of low proliferative index. It should probably be used as part of the initial surgical management. As expected, treatment results for these patients seem to have improved during the last decades but recurrence and malignancy remained a problem, which is not always solved by repeated radiosurgery., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The Swedish resident duty hour limit is regulated by Swedish and European legal frameworks. With a maximum average of 40 working hours per week, the Swedish duty hour regulation is one of the most restrictive in the world. At the same time, the effects of resident duty hour limits have been neither debated nor researched in the Swedish context. As a result, little is known about the Swedish conceptual framework for resident duty hours, their restriction, or their outcomes: we call this "the Swedish duty hour enigma." This situation poses a further question: How do Swedish residents themselves construct a conceptual framework for duty hour restrictions?, Methods: A case study was conducted at Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm--an urban, research-intensive hospital setting. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 34 residents currently in training in 6 specialties. The empirical data analysis relied on theoretical propositions and was conducted thematically using a pattern-matching technique. The interview guide was based on four main topics: the perceived effect of duty hour restrictions on (1) patient care, (2) resident education, (3) resident well-being, and (4) research., Results: The residents did not perceive the volume of duty hours to be the main determinant of success or failure in the four contextual domains of patient care, resident education, resident well-being, and research. Instead, they emphasized resident well-being and a desire for flexibility., Conclusions: According to Swedish residents' conceptual framework on duty hours, the amount of time spent on duty is not a proxy for the quality of resident training. Instead, flexibility, organization, and scheduling of duty hours are considered to be the factors that have the greatest influence on resident well-being, quality of learning, and opportunities to attain the competence needed for independent practice.

The repair of complex craniofacial bone defects is challenging and a successful result is dependent on the size of the defect, quality of the soft tissue covering the defect, and choice of reconstruction method. The objective of this study was to develop a bioactive cranial implant that could provide a permanent reconstructive solution to the patient by stimulating bone healing of the defect. In this paper the authors report on the feasibility and clinical results of using such a newly developed device for the repair of a large traumatic and therapy-resistant cranial bone defect. The patient had undergone numerous attempts at repair, in which established methods had been tried without success. A mosaic-designed device was manufactured and implanted, comprising interconnected ceramic tiles with a defined calcium phosphate composition. The clinical outcome 30 months after surgery revealed a restored cranial vault without postoperative complications. Computed tomography demonstrated signs of bone ingrowth. Examination with combined (18)F-fluoride PET and CT provided further evidence of bone healing of the cranial defect.

Background: Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) together with a suitable carrier is an attractive option that may be used for craniofacial bone reconstruction. In this prospective randomized study, a hyaluronan-based hydrogel with BMP-2 was used to achieve bone healing in standardized critical-size cranial defects in humans after neurosurgery., Methods: Twelve patients were randomized into the treatment group (N = 6) or control group (N = 6). In the treatment group, holes made during craniotomy were treated with hydrogel with BMP-2, 250 µg/mL, or hydrogel without BMP-2. In the remaining hole/s in the same patient, Spongostan (Ethicon) alone or Tisseel (Baxter) mixed with autologous bone matrix were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. In the control group, the holes were treated with Spongostan or Tisseel mixed with bone autograft. Bone healing was assessed with CT scans after 3 and 6 months. Bone areas in treated defects were measured and statistical analysis was performed., Results: Independent of location, bone healing in defects treated with Tisseel with autograft, hydrogel alone, or hydrogel with BMP-2 was significantly increased compared to negative control (P < 0.001, P = 0.002, and P = 0.005, respectively). In general, all defects healed significantly better in the frontal bone as compared to parietal-temporal location, except for defects treated with Tisseel and autograft, which healed well independently of location. No local or systemic side effects, including excessive bone overgrowth or inflammatory reaction, were seen in treated patients., Conclusions: Tissue engineering of bone with hyaluronan-based hydrogel shows good healing of cranial defects, comparable with bone autografts. The hydrogel itself may represent a novel alternative to autologous bone transplants in craniofacial bone repair. The study also reveals a general superior healing capacity in the frontal bone as compared to parietal/temporal bones.