Analysis of Complications After Cranioplasty with a Customized Three-Dimensional Titanium Mesh Plate

Objective: To report outcomes of cranioplasty (CP) with a customized three-dimensional (3D) titanium mesh plate and identify the relationship between various clinical variables and complications after CP. Methods: Twenty patients who underwent surgery with customized 3D titanium mesh plates and had follow-up for >6 months from January 2015 to December 2017 were enrolled. Complications related to CP were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into 2 groups (no complication group and complication group), and clinical variables related to complications were compared between the 2 groups. Correlation analysis was performed to identify the clinical variable significantly correlated with complications after CP with a customized 3D titanium mesh plate. Results: Of 20 patients, 11 developed complications, including extrusion, intracranial infection, severe operative site pain, and wound dehiscence. Among the clinical variables, only the presence of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt was significantly correlated with the overall complication rate (odds ratio = 18.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.56–222.92; P = 0.021). Conclusions: A customized 3D titanium mesh plate is associated with a lower risk of intracranial infection, but the rate of postoperative complications, mainly cosmetic problems, such as forehead mesh extrusion and dehiscence, was high at 55%. A ventriculoperitoneal shunt was significantly correlated with the overall complication rate after CP with a customized 3D titanium mesh plate.