Cranial defect is a very common neurosurgical disorder. A large area of cranial defect can cause serious harm to the body and requires timely cranial repair. Patients may have many questions about skull repair surgery, we summarize some common questions and hope to help them. Does cranial bone repair help the brain to recover later? From our work experience, cranial bone repair can be very helpful for later recovery. After surgical repair of cranial defects, whether using autologous materials or artificial materials to cover the cranial defect area, a cranial cavity can be kept intact to avoid pressure on the brain from external atmospheric pressure. Through clinical and scientific experiments, there is ample evidence that cranial repair surgery has a significant improvement on local blood flow. Therefore, cranial repair surgery can greatly help the recovery of the brain. What are the materials used for cranial repair? The materials for cranial bone repair have progressed over the past 20 years, starting with plexiglass, developing into bone cement, then titanium mesh, and in recent years, polyetheretherketone PEEK. At present, the main clinical use is titanium mesh and PEEK, and the others are no longer used clinically. peek cranial repair material advantages and disadvantages peek material full name is polyether ether ketone material, is currently the most ideal material for cranial repair, it is personalized according to the patient’s head CT data for three-dimensional reconstruction, the use of 3D printing technology to produce a smooth and perfect fit for the patient’s cranial defects, polyether ether ketone material is the main advantage of the material is light, low density, high strength, and The advantages of polyether ether ketone material are mainly that the material is light, dense, strong, and resistant to blows, and non-conductive, non-heat and cold conductive, so that the patient does not have any foreign body sensation after implantation. There is no obvious disadvantage of polyetheretherketone material, if there is any disadvantage, it is a little expensive. What are the after-effects of cranial bone repair surgery? There are no obvious complications of skull repair surgery itself, but there may be infections and rejection reactions, which are the two main morbidities that may occur after using titanium mesh material for repair. How to do skull repair with thin scalp? Cranial repair can be done even with thin scalp, but the thin scalp may be dangerous for suturing and may cause implant leakage after surgery. In the face of this situation, a transfer flap can be done in clinical surgery, or if it is very severe, a scalp hydrosalping can be performed upfront, which has been used. This is a very specialized and mature treatment option in neurosurgery. So, for regular neurosurgeons, thin scalp is not a big problem, and all can be treated. Can I fly with skull loss? During the airplane ride, especially the takeoff and landing, the pressure inside the cabin produces changes, and many people’s ears and eardrums will produce obvious symptomatic reactions, such as tinnitus, dorsal air in the ears, and inward or bulging ear drums. For patients with skull defect, before skull repair, the skull defect is only covered by skin, and under the skin is the brain tissue. This situation is easily affected by the external atmospheric pressure, and if the pressure changes a lot, the patient may experience dizziness, headache, and severe patients may have epilepsy. Therefore, patients who have skull defects that have not been repaired should avoid flying as much as possible, and can ride safely after the skull repair is completed. How many years after skull repair? We usually do a 3D CT scan before leaving the hospital, which can present the anatomical reset of the skull very well; after the operation, we usually do a CT in about six months to see the condition of the skull, if there is no abnormal condition, basically, there is no need to go for a review, and this treatment is finished. How many days is the risk period for skull repair? Cranial repair is a very common and safe procedure in neurosurgery, basically it does not cause any major harm to human body and there is no special danger period. A CT examination is performed the day after the skull repair to observe the intracranial condition, and as long as there is no abnormality, the danger period can be ruled out. Precautions after cranial bone repair Cranial bone repair surgery is a very safe kind of surgery, and there are no clear various contraindications after surgery, only that the stitches are removed one week after surgery, and hair washing is performed after two weeks, and there are no other special places to avoid. How long can I live after skull repair? Cranial repair does not affect the natural life span of a person, but it depends on the natural life span of the human body. Cranial repair surgery is very helpful for the recovery of patients with cranial defects, so we still recommend early cranial repair surgery. Can I have an MRI with titanium mesh repair? Titanium mesh material is a metal material, although it is not paramagnetic like steel or iron and will not be attracted to the machine by the magnetic field, so in theory it can be used for MRI. However, the vast majority of MRI rooms do not recommend titanium mesh material for entry because of the high heat that can be generated during the examination, which can cause unpredictable harm to the patient. Therefore, MRI is not recommended for patients with titanium mesh repair material. Can titanium mesh skull pass the security check? Titanium mesh material is a metal material, so patients will have some noise when they go through the security check. Therefore, when patients need to go through the security check, it is recommended to carry the medical diagnosis certificate with you and show it to the security personnel to pass. Can I die from a skull injury? Cranial injury is a relatively common disease in neurosurgery, usually caused by trauma. A serious cranial injury, such as bleeding, with a large amount of bleeding and epidural hematoma, can be life-threatening and require emergency craniotomy by a neurosurgeon to save life; in addition, a depressed cranial fracture may pierce the blood vessels in the cerebral cortex and produce an intracerebral hematoma, which can be life-threatening or disabling. If the fracture is simply linear and does not cause intracranial hemorrhage, the patient is still relatively safe.