Customized Cost-Effective Polymethyl-Methacrylate Cranioplasty Implant Using Three-Dimensional Printer

Sambardhan Dabadi; Raju Raj Dhungel; Upama Sharma; Dinuj Shrestha; Pritam Gurung; Resha Shrestha; Basant Pant

doi:10.4103/ajns.AJNS_441_20

Customized Cost-Effective Polymethyl-Methacrylate Cranioplasty Implant Using Three-Dimensional Printer

Asian J Neurosurg. 2021 Mar 20;16(1):150-154. doi: 10.4103/ajns.AJNS_441_20. eCollection 2021 Jan-Mar.

Authors

Sambardhan Dabadi¹, Raju Raj Dhungel¹, Upama Sharma², Dinuj Shrestha², Pritam Gurung², Resha Shrestha², Basant Pant²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Annapurna Neurological Institute and Allied Sciences, Maitighar, Kathmandu, Nepal.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Annapurna Neurological Institute and Allied Sciences, Maitighar, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Abstract

There is no doubt that many synthetic materials used in cranioplasty have given good result regarding patient's calvarial shape. However, the use of these materials is costly to the patient and requires complex intraoperative process. There has been a long history regarding the use of acrylic bone cement called as polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) as an implant due to its desirable properties. Here, we present three cases of simple, cost effective manually sculpted calvarial defect using three-dimensional (3D) printer. Sharing the achievement and challenges, we want to focus that the 3D customized implant of PMMA can be used as bone substitute.

Keywords: Bone cement; cranioplasty; polymethyl-methacrylate prosthesis; three-dimensional printing.

Publication types

Case Reports