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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2022; 17(02): 317-323
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1750812
Case Report

PMMA Cranioplasty Making by Using Оpen-Source CAD Software, PLA Printers, and Silicone Rubber Molds: Technical Note with Two Illustrative Cases

Azad Malikov
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
,
Ahmet Eren Secen
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
,
Ozgur Ocal
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
,
Denizhan Divanlioglu
1   Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
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Abstract

In this technical report, we discuss the design and production of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) implants, which we successfully applied in two patients using silicone molds, and a retrospective review of these patients at 1- and 6-month intervals. By using open-source computer-assisted design software, three-dimensional printers, and the patient's thin-sliced computed tomography data, we designed and produced the implant template and used it to make silicone rubber mоlds for intraoperative PMMA casting with good results. As a negative of the implant, we created a silicon mold, which can be autoclaved.

Two patients underwent PMMA cranioplasty using this method. Both implants were fitted into the defect without manipulation and good aesthetic аppеаrance of all patients was achieved. At follow-up 1 and 6 months after the operation, no complication was noted and the patients tolerated the cranioplasty platе wеll.

Keywords

PMMA cranioplasty - PLA printer - silicone mold


Publication History

Article published online:
24 August 2022

© 2022. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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