Disadvantages of titanium mesh for cranial repair

Firstly, titanium mesh is easily affected by the external temperature, thermal expansion and contraction, and the heat conduction is too fast, the patient’s head will produce swelling or tightness; secondly, titanium mesh as a substitute material for the skull, the hardness of the material is not ideal, easy to be deformed by the impact of external forces, so that the surface of the patient’s head is uneven, extremely unattractive; the use of titanium mesh for the repair of the original is a cover-type surgery, the form of this surgery is generally more irritation on the scalp; the patient may have headaches and other discomfort after use; titanium mesh as a metal material will affect the normal examination of patients after surgery, resulting in metal artifacts. This form of surgery is generally more irritating to the scalp, and patients may experience discomfort such as headaches after use; titanium mesh, as a metallic material, can interfere with the patient’s ability to perform a normal postoperative examination and produce metal artifacts. The disadvantages of titanium mesh may cause some patients with cranial defects to experience side effects after use; therefore, when choosing a material for cranial repair, we should choose the repair material with the best results and the fewest side effects as possible. In contrast, the most ideal material polyether ether ketone material, also commonly known as peek material, although the price is more expensive than titanium mesh, but it has many advantages, such as the above titanium mesh shortcomings in the use of peek material in the process of basically will not appear, as a non-metallic material, peek material can be very well embedded in the skull, the patient will not be because of the temperature change and produce any feeling, and will not be easily subjected to external forces. It will not be easily deformed by external blows, nor will it produce artifacts during post-operative examinations that can affect the results. As the ideal material, peek is especially suited to meet the aesthetic needs of cranial repair, utilizing advanced 3D printing technology to replicate the defect and accurately overlap the edges of the defect. Many patients with cranial defects have been repaired with peek, and after long-term follow-up, the patients have recovered very well from the surgery, with little or no discomfort.