Spontaneous fracture of a titanium mesh cranioplasty implant in a child: A case report

BACKGROUND Titanium mesh cranioplasty is often performed after decompressive craniectomy.Spontaneous fracture of the titanium prosthesis is an extremely rare postoperative complication.Here,we report a 10-year-old boy who presented with a spontaneous fracture of titanium mesh without antecedent head trauma.CASE SUMMARY A 10-year-old boy presented with a 1-wk history of a tender bulge over the left temporo-parieto-occipital scalp.He had undergone a temporo-parieto-occipital titanium mesh cranioplasty 26 mo previously.He denied antecedent head trauma.Computerized tomography disclosed a perpendicular fissure in the titanium mesh,suggesting a diagnosis of spontaneous titanium mesh fracture.He underwent a second temporo-parieto-occipital cranioplasty and made an uneventful recovery.Three-dimensional modeling and finite element analyses were used to explore potential risk factors of titanium mesh fracture.CONCLUSION We report a case of spontaneous fracture of a titanium mesh cranioplasty implant.The current case and literature review indicate that titanium mesh implants should be well-anchored to the base of bony defects to prevent fatigue-induced fractures.