Reconstruction of Cranial Bone Defects Using Polyamide 12 Patient-Specific Implant: Long Term Follow Up

Abstract: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the use of patient-specific polyamide 12 implants in cranial bone defect reconstruction. Ten patients who underwent prior decompression craniectomy were selected for the current study. Skull scanning by computerized tomography was performed and used to make virtual planning of the implants to be transformed into physical implant using selective laser sintering. Cranioplasty was performed through coronal surgical approach where cranial implants were fixated using 2.0-mm mini-screws, and plates. Patients follow-up was from 12 to 36 months. Glasgow Outcome Score recorded 1 (good recovery) for all patients. Patient and surgeon satisfaction for the esthetic outcome were measured using visual analog scale as mean of 10 ± 0 and 9 ± 1, respectively. Cranial symmetry index was calculated as mean score of 98% ± 1%, indicating highly accurate symmetry, and preoperative virtual planning and postoperative outcome were compared for accuracy analysis with a mean difference of 0.3197 ± 0.1649, which indicates high accuracy. Polyamide12 cranial implants seem to offer a promising option to cranial bone reconstruction with patient-specific implants. This study ensures proper cosmetic and clinical outcome.