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 cranial repair surgery, we summarize some common questions and hope to be of some help to patients. What is cranioplasty? Cranial repair is to replace the defective cranial bone with certain artificial materials to repair the defective area and restore the complete closure of the cranium for various reasons, and this method is called cranial repair. Causes of cranial defects There are several main causes of increased intracranial pressure: the first is trauma, which causes swelling of brain tissue and requires craniotomy for decompression. During the decompression, if the intracranial pressure continues to increase, the bone flap is not given back intraoperatively in order to avoid life-threatening effects after surgery. The second is intracranial tumor, during the process of tumor removal, due to the brain tissue repositioning process, the brain tissue is more obviously over-expanded, the brain tissue is higher than the bone flap, and the pressure is also higher, so the bone flap can not be returned intraoperatively. The third is cerebral hemorrhage, which is relatively large, and the damage to the brain tissue is also relatively heavy. It may also produce increased intracranial pressure during the postoperative cranial closure process, so the bone flap is not given back. Cranial defects also produce some concomitant symptoms, such as headache and dizziness. Patients are advised to undergo cranial repair at 3-6 months. Hazards of skull defect There are several hazards of skull defect: First, due to the lack of skull protection, the blood vessels on the surface of the brain tissue and the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid will be compressed to a certain extent, producing local ischemic manifestations and impaired circulation of cerebrospinal fluid, and a series of symptoms will not occur. Secondly, the large area of cranial defect will have a certain impact on the patient’s psychology, which will seriously affect the normal life and work. Thirdly, due to the lack of cranial protection, secondary injuries are easily produced if trauma is sustained. Fourthly, some patients, especially children, may also have brain tissue displacement, brain bulge, cranial and brain developmental deformities, etc. Is it necessary to repair cranial defects? According to the neurosurgical guidelines, skull defects of 3 by 3 cm or more need to be repaired. It is recommended that patients with skull defects should undergo skull repair surgery as early as possible. What tests are needed for cranial defect? Cranial defect can be seen from the appearance of the defect area, and the diagnosis can be determined by the doctor’s observation, touch, percussion and hearing. When skull defect treatment needs to be done surgically, relevant examinations are performed, especially preoperative CT examination of the head to collect data for 3D reconstruction, production of materials for skull repair and individual production. In addition, some of the routine preoperative preparations for neurosurgery, such as blood tests, biochemical tests, chest radiographs, and some related ultrasound examinations, require postoperative review of CT. if the titanium mesh material is used for repair, do not do head MRI, but mainly use CT review. If you use polyetheretherketone PEEK material, you can do CT with MRI after surgery. Is cranial repair a major surgery? Cranial repair is not considered a major surgery in the field of neurosurgery, and is a relatively common and routine procedure in neurosurgery. It is a relatively safe procedure with low surgical risk. It is recommended that patients with cranial defects have cranial repair surgery as early as possible. The best time for cranial repair The current view of the best time for cranial repair is three months to six months. Nowadays, medical technology is more advanced and repair materials have also advanced rapidly. Therefore, a lot of clinical experiments and scientific researches have shown that three months to six months is the best time for skull repair. If there is no contraindication to surgery, skull repair surgery can be done within three months. A large amount of clinical evidence shows that early repair surgery has a significant improvement in prognosis, because after cranial repair, there is a significant improvement in local cortical blood flow and cerebrospinal fluid circulation, and the local supply of nutrients and blood to the brain is more adequate. Therefore, early cranial repair surgery is generally recommended. How long does skull repair surgery take? Cranial repair surgery should be measured in several ways to measure the time taken before and after surgery. Firstly, before the skull repair surgery, it takes 4 working days to prepare the repair material and the patient has to undergo preoperative examination, including head CT, blood sampling, biochemistry, chest X-ray, relevant ultrasound, etc. Secondly, the operation will take about 2 hours to complete if it goes well, and the drainage tube can be removed and the patient can move off the ground the day after the operation. Finally, if the recovery is smooth, the patient can be discharged from the hospital on the seventh day after surgery. Basically, skull repair surgery can be completed in 4 days before surgery and 7 to 8 days after surgery. How much does skull repair surgery cost? The cost of skull repair surgery mainly includes the cost of repair materials, hospitalization, examination and surgery. The difference in the cost of cranial repair mainly lies in the materials used, currently there are two kinds of materials used, one is titanium alloy material and the other is peek material, i.e. polyether ether ketone material. The difference between these two materials is relatively large, and the price is different according to the size of the area. Therefore, the cost of surgery depends firstly on the repair material used and secondly on the size of the area of the skull defect to be repaired. So the final price can be determined only after a comprehensive evaluation of various factors.