Customised Cranioplasty Implant for Decompressive Craniectomy Patients – A Technical Note

Özet

Cranioplasty is a commonly performed procedure following decompressive craniectomy. The patients are usually young earningpersons and increasing cost of treatment is difficult to bear especially in low and middle income countries. A variety of optionsare available for cranioplasty ranging from autologus bone graft to xenograft and synthetic materials. Presently the autologouscryopreserved or subcutaneously preserved bone graft is considered as the preferred choice, but it has the drawbacks of boneresorption and infection. Custom made titanium implants and polyetheretherketone implants, which are manufactured using 3Dprinting technologies, are also being used. However, their use is limited because of high cost and lack of availability of thesetechnologies in the developing world, which have the maximum number of such cases. The authors present an easy and low costtechnique for making a customised cranioplasty implant by polymethylmethacrylate using the craniotomy bone flap of the patientas a template.