Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 7, 2025
Author Spotlight: Segmentation and VR for Advanced Neurovascular Interventions
Published on: April 5, 2024
Single-stage cranioplasty with customized polyetheretherketone implant after tumor resection using virtual reality
Christian I Rios-Vicil1, Daniela Barbery2, Phuong Dang2
1Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pennsylvania; and.
Background:
Cranioplasties are routinely performed to restore cosmesis and to protect intracranial contents after trauma, resection of tumors, or other pathologies. Traditionally done as a second-stage procedure, new single-stage cranioplasty protocols have been developed to minimize recovery periods, decrease complications, and improve patient satisfaction. These protocols, however, still require the use of larger than planned implants or use larger than ideal incisions to accommodate three-dimensional (3D) templates, which may not be optimal in regions with complex bony anatomy.
Observations:
A 50-year-old woman with a painful and progressively enlarging hemangioma of the left frontal bone underwent a single-stage resection followed by custom cranioplasty using a new extended reality (XR)-based workflow. Excellent cosmetic results, decreased operative time, and a feasible workflow were achieved.
Lessons:
The use of an XR-based visualization platform allows the surgeon to treat lesions and perform custom cranioplasties in one session while avoiding common pitfalls of current single-stage workflows, such as increased operative times for tailoring implants, as well as minimizing the use of 3D overlay models, which may not appropriately conform to complex regional bony anatomy intraoperatively.
