What is the best material to use for cranial repair in children?

Pediatric cranial repair and restoration surgery is used to treat patients with defects caused by cranial trauma and brain surgery. There is also a part of congenital cranial defects are due to the embryonic period in the development or ossification disorder patients. At present, the main materials for cranial bone repair are as follows: 1, titanium mesh material, i.e., titanium alloy material. It is a kind of material with high utilization rate at present. Its advantage is that it is cheap and cost-effective. Non-corrosive, solid. Forgeable, cosmetic effect is better compared to bone cement and so on. But at the same time there are certain risks, first of all, the problem of its metal material causes it to have higher thermal conductivity and poor thermal insulation, which may cause sensitivity to heat and cold, and the child may be more sensitive to this heat and cold reaction. In addition the procedure of using titanium mesh for skull repair is a type of overlay surgery which is more irritating to the scalp. It also has poorer histocompatibility and resistance to compression, so it results in it not being tough enough and easily deformed by force. Children are playful and don’t know how to protect themselves, and if the material is not tough enough it is more likely to cause secondary injuries. At the same time, the material will also have metal artifacts, which may affect medical examinations, such as CT resonance, causing diagnostic interference. So it is not a better choice of cranial repair material for children. 2.Polyetheretherketone material, also known as peek material. It is the better material for the treatment of cranial defects. It is also one of the materials suitable for cranial bone repair surgery. Polyether ether ketone is a kind of polymer material comparable to the human body’s own skull. It is more biocompatible. It is strong but very elastic and tough, more resistant to blows and better protection. This effectively avoids the risk of accidental impact by children. Unlike the titanium mesh material, which is a covered procedure, cranial repair surgery with polyetheretherketone is an embedded procedure, which is also much more comfortable. Moreover, compared with titanium mesh material, polyetheretherketone material basically does not conduct heat and has strong thermal insulation properties. It avoids the sensitivity to heat and cold caused by cranial bone repair surgery with titanium mesh. There will be no infection or rejection after surgery. Radiation can be transmitted without forming artifacts. Moreover, polyether ether ketone is a material that can be three-dimensionally plasticized and can be customized for three-dimensional reconstruction according to the different needs of patients. According to the patient’s brain CT data for the design, the use of 3D printing technology to create a perfect match with the bone window of the cranial repair of the cranial bone and their own cranial bone perfect fit, beautiful and natural. So whether it is a child skull defect or adult skull defect, the better choice of material is polyether ether ketone material. The best time to repair a child’s skull: Skull repair is a relatively routine surgery in neurosurgery, according to the neurosurgical guidelines on cranial repair, small children can be done after the age of three years old. The reason is that after the age of three, the child’s skull basically grows more slowly, and the skull grows along the bone seam, so the size of the bone window basically won’t change. Moreover, children are at the age of active, not strong sense of self-protection, easy to be hurt by the outside world; long-term cranial defects, it is also easy to cause neurological damage: therefore, early cranial bone repair surgery is needed.