Clinical application of digital titanium mesh shaping in skull neoplasty

Objective: To assess the clinical application of digital titanium mesh shaping (DTMS) in skull neoplasty by comparing DTMS with manual shaping (MS). Methods: Sixty patients undergoing cranioplasty were randomly divided into DTMS group and MS group, 30 cases in each. In DTMS group computer-aided design was made and fast automatic modeling technique was used to shape the titanium mesh into individual skull prosthetic replacement. Operation duration, the number of shaping screws needed in operation, patients' satisfaction rate and post-operative complications were compared and analyzed. Results: Compared with those in MS group, in DTMS group the average operation duration was significantly about 60 minutes shorter (P<0.05) and the titanium screws were fewer (P<0.05). The rate of patients' satisfaction about the outcomes reached 96.7% in DTMS group, higher than that in MS group (86.7%). No other post-operative complications occurred in DTMS group except for transient subcutaneous effusion in one case. Conclusion: Three-dimensional digital titanium mesh shaping prosthesis, with many advantages such as simple and convenient operation process, accurate and natural physiological curve and shape, as well as reducing complications and medical expenses, is superior to the traditional manual shaping and has a promising application prospect.