Depressed Comminuted Fracture of a Plastic Cranioplasty

Abstract

A depressed comminuted fracture of a large plastic (methyl methacrylate resin) cranioplasty and lacerated dura mater following a minor head injury is an unusual enough complication to warrant a brief report. The advantages of this plastic material over other materials for repair of cranial defects are the ease of perfect molding, the low cost, and the x-ray translucency, as Spence 1 has reported. However, its brittleness makes one reluctant to use it for large bony defects, as is brought out in the following case report.