Is it possible to repair a skull defect with titanium mesh? Cranial defect repair surgery is a common type of cranial repair surgery. With the rapid development of technology, skull repair materials are also available for more choices, like titanium mesh, is one of the materials often used in skull repair surgery, some people want to ask: can skull defect be repaired with titanium mesh? Is it reliable? First of all, we need to understand the material of titanium mesh, titanium mesh is actually a titanium alloy material, the shape of the repair surgery is like a net, so it is named titanium mesh. Titanium cranial is currently the most commonly used material for repairing skull defects. It is usually shaped precisely by computer according to the shape of the contralateral skull and made into a titanium mesh plate, which is then firmly fixed on top of the skull around the skull defect using 10-20 self-tapping screws. Titanium alloy is strong, biocompatible and corrosion resistant. It can be carried and used for life without fear of deformation, dislodgement and other accidents, unless the head has been violently hit. How many years do titanium screws last? Titanium is the only metal in all metals that has the most affinity to the human body, and when combined with human bones, it does not produce any rejection reaction and does not cause any harm to the human body. If a fracture is fixed with a titanium screw, the fracture has already healed and the screw is located in the femoral head, there is no jamming on the surrounding soft tissues and nerves, so it will not have any effect on the human body and can stay in the body permanently. At present, orthopedics, brain surgery, maxillofacial surgery, etc. often use titanium materials, for example, orthopedics to perform artificial joint replacement surgery, the artificial joints used in part of the material for titanium, maxillofacial and cranial repair also need to use titanium plates for repair, these titanium materials need to stay in the body permanently, will not have any impact on the human body, so there is no problem of the length of life of titanium screws. Titanium is also the harder and lighter material among metals. Compared with other techniques, titanium is very suitable for skull repair material, and the titanium mesh can restore the shape of the skull better through computerized shaping. Because titanium mesh is a relatively thin layer of metal mesh, the thickness is only about 1mm, but this also leads to the lack of hardness of titanium mesh, especially for large skull titanium mesh, which is easily deformed when it is subjected to external force again, resulting in titanium mesh depression, and in serious cases, it needs to be removed and operated again. We have also seen such patients who have already had skull repair, but after the trauma, the titanium mesh is depressed, and even with bleeding, they need to operate again. Therefore, after skull titanium mesh repair, care should be taken to protect the surgical site to avoid re-injury. This shows that although titanium mesh is a good repair material, it still has some defects. Now we recommend a newer repair material called peek, also known as polyetheretherketone repair material. It has a structure closer to human tissue than titanium mesh and is also a bit stronger. In addition to these, polyetheretherketone repair material also has the advantages of other skull repair materials. For example, polyetheretherketone is a polymer material comparable to the human body’s own cranial bone. It is more biocompatible. It is strong but very elastic and tough, more resistant to impact and better protection. Unlike titanium mesh surgery, skull repair surgery with polyetheretheretherketone is an embedded surgery and more comfortable. Moreover, compared with titanium mesh material polyetheretherketone material basically does not conduct heat and has strong insulation properties. It avoids the sensitivity to hot and cold reactions caused by cranial repair surgery with titanium mesh. There is also no postoperative infection and no rejection. Rays can be transmitted without forming artifacts. A more important point is that polyetheretherketone is a material that can be plasticized in three dimensions and can be customized for three-dimensional reconstruction according to the different needs of the patient. According to the patient’s brain CT data, the design is made according to the 3D printing technology, and the cranial bone after the repair is made with the bone window perfectly matched with the skull is basically the same as the own skull. However, there are not many hospitals that do skull repair by peek at present. It also requires a high level of skill and professionalism from the doctors who do peek skull repair in China. Therefore, if there are patients who need this treatment, it is recommended to choose a more authoritative hospital.