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Published on: May 23, 2020
Demonstration of Cosmetic Improvement After Cranioplasty Using a Personalized 3D-Printed Mold for Creating
Hakan Çakın1, Yilmaz Yildirim2, Umut Ozsoy2
1Department of Brain and Neurological Surgery, Akdeniz University, Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey.
Background:
Although personalized polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) implant production molds for cranioplasty are costly and time-consuming, they allow for better-quality implants. The researchers quantitatively tested the contribution of simplified, low-cost techniques to cosmetic improvement.
Methods:
PMMA prosthesis was placed in a 25-year-old male patient due to osteolysis in the bone flap removed after decompression surgery. A single-sided mold was three-dimensional (3D) printed before the surgery, and the prosthesis was produced during the surgery. In addition, the change in cranial asymmetry was evaluated using a 3D surface scanner after surgery.
Results:
The mold took half an hour to design and 5 hours to print. The mold cost about 2 dollars. The root means square (RMS) value measured to determine cranial asymmetry decreased from 5.4 mm to 2.8 mm postoperatively. The patient stated that he was pretty satisfied with the cosmetic result.
Conclusions:
Simple design techniques developed can offer low-cost, fast-design alternative solutions with satisfactory cosmetic results for low-income countries and patients.
