scholarly journals Cranioplasty after decompressive craniectomy: is there a rationale for an initial artificial bone-substitute implant? A single-center experience after 631 procedures

2016 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 710-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Falko Schwarz ◽  
Pedro Dünisch ◽  
Jan Walter ◽  
Yasser Sakr ◽  
Rolf Kalff ◽  
...  

OBJECT The complication rate for cranioplasty after decompressive craniectomy is higher than that after other neurosurgical procedures; aseptic bone resorption is the major long-term problem. Patients frequently need additional operations to remove necrotic bone and replace it with an artificial bone substitute. Initial implantation of a bone substitute may be an option for selected patients who are at risk for bone resorption, but this cohort has not yet been clearly defined. The authors’ goals were to identify risk factors for aseptic bone flap necrosis and define which patients may benefit more from an initial bone-substitute implant than from autograft after craniectomy. METHODS The authors retrospectively analyzed 631 cranioplasty procedures (503 with autograft, 128 with bone substitute) by using a stepwise multivariable logistic regression model and discrimination analysis. RESULTS There was a significantly higher risk for reoperation after placement of autograft than after placement of bone substitute; aseptic bone necrosis (n = 108) was the major problem (OR 2.48 [95% CI1.11–5.51]). Fragmentation of the flap into 2 or more fragments, younger age (OR 0.97 [95% CI 0.95–0.98]; p < 0.001), and shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (OR 1.73 [95% CI1.02–2.92]; p = 0.04) were independent risk factors for bone necrosis. According to discrimination analysis, patients younger than 30 years old and older patients with a fragmented flap had the highest risk of developing bone necrosis. CONCLUSIONS Development of bone flap necrosis is the main concern in long-term follow-up after cranioplasty with autograft. Patients younger than 30 years old and older patients with a fragmented flap may be candidates for an initial artificial bone substitute rather than autograft.

2013 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 1141-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Dünisch ◽  
Jan Walter ◽  
Yasser Sakr ◽  
Rolf Kalff ◽  
Albrecht Waschke ◽  
...  

Object In patients who have undergone decompressive craniectomy, autologous bone flap reinsertion becomes necessary whenever the cerebral situation has consolidated. However, aseptic necrosis of the bone flap remains a concern. The aim of this study was to report possible perioperative complications in patients undergoing autologous bone flap reinsertion and to identify the risk factors that may predispose the bone flap to necrosis. Methods All patients admitted to the authors' neurosurgical department between September 1994 and June 2011 and who received their own cryoconserved bone flap after decompressive craniectomy were studied. The grade of the bone flap necrosis was classified into 2 types. Type II bone necrosis was characterized by aseptic resorption with circumscribed or complete lysis of tabula interna and externa requiring surgical revision. To define predisposing factors, a multivariate analysis was performed using bone necrosis as the dependent variable. Results Among the 372 patients (mean age 48.6 years, 57.4% males) who received 414 bone flaps during the observation period, 134 (36.0%) had a diffuse traumatic brain injury, 69 (18.5%) had subarachnoid hemorrhage, 58 (15.6%) had cerebral infarction, 56 (15.1%) had extraaxial bleeding, 43 (11.6%) had intracerebral bleeding, and 12 (3.2%) had a neoplasm. Surgical relevant Type II bone flap necrosis occurred in 85 patients (22.8%) and 91 bone flaps, after a median time of 15 months (interquartile range [IQR], 10–33 months). In a multivariate analysis with Type II necrosis as the dependent variable, bone flap fragmentation with 2 (OR 3.35, 95% CI 1.59–7.01, p < 0.002) or more fragments (OR 24.00, 95% CI 10.13–56.84, p < 0.001), shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (OR 1.76, 95% CI 0.99–3.12, p = 0.04), and a younger age (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96–0.99, p = 0.004) was associated with a higher risk for the development of an aseptic bone flap necrosis. Conclusions In patients undergoing bone flap reinsertion after craniotomy, aseptic bone necrosis is an underestimated problem during long-term follow-up. Especially in younger patients with an expected good neurological recovery and a fragmented bone flap, an initial allograft should be considered because of an increased risk for aseptic bone flap necrosis.


2021 ◽  

Introduction: COVID-19 (or COVID) is a highly virulent viral disease which more frequently presents severe infection in specific populations, such as the elderly, patients with hypertension, patients with respiratory disease, and patients who smoke. The effects vaping (i.e., an electronic cigarette or JUUL device) has on COVID progression remains unclear, because there is an information paucity correlating e-cigarette use and COVID. This review sought to identify links between vape use and COVID severity via literature review. Additionally, because there is more widespread information about cigarette smoking than about vaping, this review sought to illustrate commonalities between smoking and vaping. If smoking and vaping are deemed near-identical practices, then it is possible the effects of smoking on human health and on COVID disease could be comparable in vaping. Methods: Several searches were performed on PubMed with MeSH headings and JSTOR between 17 December 2020 and 22 December 2020. Search results were excluded if they were not trials or controlled clinical trials, if the articles were not about COVID, if the articles were about smoking behaviors or habits, or if the articles were not related to vaping or smoking. Key findings were summarized and tabled based on relevance, substantiability, and applicability to COVID. Results: Multiple sources viewed smoking and vaping as equal risk factors for COVID disease, whereas other sources viewed the two as unique risk factors. Because of this controversy, it is challenging to view the two practices as similar enough to pose equivalent risks for COVID. Both practices pose significant health risks to its users, but these health risks are unique to each practice. Discussion: There are several limitations which exacerbate ambiguity—(1) it is unclear how harmful smoking is for COVID patients, because several publications found smoking may have protective effects; (2) few older patients vape, but yet most severe COVID cases occur in older populations; (3) older patients and impoverished patients show a statistically significant risk for severe COVID disease independent of other factors; (4) vaping is a relatively new practice, and there are few patients who self-report long-term e-cigarette use or long-term adverse effects as a result thereof. Conclusion: Although vaping may present serious health risks, clinically, it is uncertain how significantly vaping affects COVID disease, especially when compared against cigarette smoking. More research is needed on both the effects of vaping on COVID and the likeness of vaping versus smoking.


2018 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 1604-1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Griffin Ernst ◽  
Fares Qeadan ◽  
Andrew P. Carlson

OBJECTIVEDecompressive craniectomy is used for uncontrolled intracranial pressure in traumatic brain injury and malignant hemispheric stroke. Subcutaneous preservation of the autologous bone flap in the abdomen is a simple, portable technique but has largely been abandoned due to perceived concerns of resorption. The authors sought to characterize their experience with subcutaneous preservation of the bone flap and cranioplasty.METHODSThe authors performed a retrospective single-institution review of subcutaneous preservation of the autologous bone flap after decompressive craniectomy from 2005 to 2015. The primary outcome was clinically significant bone resorption, defined as requiring a complete mesh implant at the time of cranioplasty, or delayed revision. The outcome also combined cases with any minor bone resorption to determine predictors of this outcome. Logistic regression modeling was used to determine the risk factors for predicting resorption. A cost comparison analysis was also used via the 2-sided t-test to compare the cost of cranioplasty using an autologous bone flap with standard custom implant costs.RESULTSA total of 193 patients with craniectomy were identified, 108 of whom received a cranioplasty. The mean time to cranioplasty was 104.31 days. Severe resorption occurred in 10 cases (9.26%): 4 were clinically significant (2 early and 2 late) and 6 demonstrated type II (severe) necrosis on CT, but did not require revision. Early resorption of any kind (mild or severe) occurred in 28 (25.93%) of 108 cases. Of the 108 patients, 26 (24.07%) required supplemental cranioplasty material. Late resorption of any kind (mild or severe) occurred in 6 (5.88%) of 102 cases. Of these, a clinically noticeable but nonoperative deformity was noted in 4 (3.92%) and minor (type I) necrosis on CT in 37 (37%) of 100. Bivariate analysis identified fragmentation of bone (OR 3.90, 95% CI 1.03–14.8), shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (OR 7.97, 95% CI 1.57–40.46), and presence of post-cranioplasty drain (OR 9.39, 95% CI 1.14–1000) to be significant risk factors for bone resorption. A binary logistic regression optimized using Fisher’s scoring determined the optimal multivariable combination of factors. Fragmentation of bone (OR 5.84, 95% CI 1.38–28.78), diabetes (OR 7.61, 95% CI 1.37–44.56), and shunt-dependent hydrocephalus (OR 9.35, 95% CI 1.64–56.21) were found to be most predictive of resorption, with a C value of 0.78. Infections occurred in the subcutaneous pocket in 5 (2.60%) of the 193 cases and after cranioplasty in 10 (9.26%) of the 108 who underwent cranioplasty. The average cost of cranioplasty with autologous bone was $2156.28 ± $1144.60 (n = 15), and of a custom implant was $35,118.60 ± $2067.51 (3 different sizes; p < 0.0001).CONCLUSIONSCraniectomy with autologous bone cranioplasty using subcutaneous pocket storage is safe and compares favorably to cryopreservation in terms of resorption and favorably to a custom synthetic implant in terms of cost. While randomized data are required to definitively prove the superiority of one method, subcutaneous preservation has enough practical advantages with low risk to warrant routine use for most patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ho Kwon ◽  
Ho Jun Kim ◽  
Bommie F. Seo ◽  
Yeon Jin Jeong ◽  
Sung-No Jung ◽  
...  

It is essential to reduce and reconstruct bony defects adequately in large orbital floor fracture and defect. Among many reconstructive methods, alloplastic materials have attracted attention because of their safety and ease of use. We have used resorbable plates combined with artificial bone substitutes in large orbital floor defect reconstructions and have evaluated their long-term reliability compared with porous polyethylene plate. A total of 147 patients with traumatic orbital floor fracture were included in the study. Surgical results were evaluated by clinical evaluations, exophthalmometry, and computed tomography at least 12 months postoperatively. Both orbital floor height discrepancy and orbital volume change were calculated and compared with preoperative CT findings. The average volume discrepancy and vertical height discrepancies were not different between two groups. Also, exophthalmometric measurements were not significantly different between the two groups. No significant postoperative complication including permanent diplopia, proptosis, and enophthalmos was noted. Use of a resorbable plate with an artificial bone substitute to repair orbital floor defects larger than 2.5 cm2in size yielded long-lasting, effective reconstruction without significant complications. We therefore propose our approach as an effective alternative method for large orbital floor reconstructions.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Charlotte Sleurs ◽  
Jammbe Musoro ◽  
Ali Rowsell ◽  
Michal Kicinski ◽  
Stefan Suciu ◽  
...  

Background: due to increasing survival rates in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the number of survivors has been expanding. A significant proportion of these survivors can experience long-term emotional and psychosocial problems. However, the exact risk factors remain inconclusive. We investigated potential risk factors for decreased daily life quality and life challenges in long-term childhood ALL survivors enrolled between 1971 and 1998 in EORTC studies. Methods: self-report questionnaires were collected from 186 survivors (109 females; mean age at diagnosis 5.62 years, range 0.2–14.7; median time since diagnosis of 20.5 years (12.9–41.6)), including the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Impact of Cancer-Childhood Survivors (IOC-CS). Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess the impact of gender, age at diagnosis, relapse/second neoplasm, National Cancer Institute (NCI) risk group and cranial radiotherapy on 2 subscales of the SF-12 (physical and mental health) and five subscales of the IOC-CS (life challenges, body and health, personal growth, thinking and memory problems and socializing). Results: mental component scores of SF-12 were not significantly associated with any risk factor. Physical component scores were lower in relapsed, irradiated and NCI high-risk patients. Regarding IOC-CS negative impact subscales, life challenges was more negatively impacted by cancer in female, younger (i.e., <6 years) and relapsed patients. Regarding the positive impact scales, personal growth was more positively impacted in relapsed patients, whereas body and health, and socializing, were less positively impacted in these patients, compared to non-relapsed patients. Socializing was more positively impacted in older patients (>6 years). Conclusions: this study demonstrates that long-term outcomes can be both adverse and positive, depending on the patient’s demographic and clinical characteristics. Younger, female, and relapsed patients might encounter more life challenges years after their disease, while physical challenges could occur more often in relapsed and high-risk patients. Finally, the positive effect on socializing in the older patients sheds new light on the importance of peer interactions for this subgroup. Specific individual challenges thus need specialized support for specific subgroups.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon G. Rocque ◽  
Bonita S. Agee ◽  
Eric M. Thompson ◽  
Mark Piedra ◽  
Lissa C. Baird ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEIn children, the repair of skull defects arising from decompressive craniectomy presents a unique set of challenges. Single-center studies have identified different risk factors for the common complications of cranioplasty resorption and infection. The goal of the present study was to determine the risk factors for bone resorption and infection after pediatric cranioplasty.METHODSThe authors conducted a multicenter retrospective case study that included all patients who underwent cranioplasty to correct a skull defect arising from a decompressive craniectomy at 13 centers between 2000 and 2011 and were less than 19 years old at the time of cranioplasty. Prior systematic review of the literature along with expert opinion guided the selection of variables to be collected. These included: indication for craniectomy; history of abusive head trauma; method of bone storage; method of bone fixation; use of drains; size of bone graft; presence of other implants, including ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt; presence of fluid collections; age at craniectomy; and time between craniectomy and cranioplasty.RESULTSA total of 359 patients met the inclusion criteria. The patients’ mean age was 8.4 years, and 51.5% were female. Thirty-eight cases (10.5%) were complicated by infection. In multivariate analysis, presence of a cranial implant (primarily VP shunt) (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.17–4.98), presence of gastrostomy (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.03–5.79), and ventilator dependence (OR 8.45, 95% CI 1.10–65.08) were significant risk factors for cranioplasty infection. No other variable was associated with infection.Of the 240 patients who underwent a cranioplasty with bone graft, 21.7% showed bone resorption significant enough to warrant repeat surgical intervention. The most important predictor of cranioplasty bone resorption was age at the time of cranioplasty. For every month of increased age the risk of bone flap resorption decreased by 1% (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98–0.99, p < 0.001). Other risk factors for resorption in multivariate models were the use of external ventricular drains and lumbar shunts.CONCLUSIONSThis is the largest study of pediatric cranioplasty outcomes performed to date. Analysis included variables found to be significant in previous retrospective reports. Presence of a cranial implant such as VP shunt is the most significant risk factor for cranioplasty infection, whereas younger age at cranioplasty is the dominant risk factor for bone resorption.


2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Schuss ◽  
Hartmut Vatter ◽  
Ági Oszvald ◽  
Gerhard Marquardt ◽  
Lioba Imöhl ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S Hersh ◽  
Hanna J Anderson ◽  
Graeme F Woodworth ◽  
Jonathan E Martin ◽  
Yusuf M Khan

Abstract Following a decompressive craniectomy, the autologous bone flap is generally considered the reconstructive material of choice in pediatric patients. Replacement of the original bone flap takes advantage of its natural biocompatibility and the associated low risk of rejection, as well as the potential to reintegrate with the adjacent bone and subsequently grow with the patient. However, despite these advantages and unlike adult patients, the replaced calvarial bone is more likely to undergo delayed bone resorption in pediatric patients, ultimately requiring revision surgery. In this review, we describe the materials that are currently available for pediatric cranioplasty, the advantages and disadvantages of autologous calvarial replacement, the incidence and classification of bone resorption, and the clinical risk factors for bone flap resorption that have been identified to date.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 472-482
Author(s):  
Danielle E. Baker ◽  
Keith A. Edmonds ◽  
Maegan L. Calvert ◽  
Sarah M. Sanders ◽  
Ana J. Bridges ◽  
...  

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