The Applicability of Polyetheretherketone and Titanium Mesh in Cranioplasty: A Retrospective Comparative Analysis

Objective: To compare the clinical application effect and safety of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and titanium mesh (TM) in cranioplasty. Methods: Four-year retrospective comparison of patients (96 cases) undergoing synthetic cranioplasty with PEEK or TM. The patients were divided into the PEEK group (24 cases) and the TM group (72 cases) according to the implants, and the patient demographics, general conditions before the operation, postoperative complications, length of postoperative hospital stay, total costs, satisfaction with shaping and long-term complications were compared between the 2 groups. Results: Patients in the PEEK group were younger than those in the TM group (P=0.019). Hospitalization costs were significantly higher in the PEEK group than in the TM group (P<0.001). The incidence of postoperative subcutaneous effusion was 33% in the PEEK group and 6.9% in the TM group, which suggests that patients in the PEEK group had a higher risk of postoperative subcutaneous effusion (P=0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of long-term complications and cosmetic satisfaction between the 2 groups at 4 years postoperatively. Conclusions: In this study, both titanium mesh and PEEK are reliable implants for cranioplasty. Titanium mesh is widely used in cranioplasty due to its cost-effective performance. PEEK has gradually gained recognition due to the characteristics of the material and surgical procedure, but the price needs to be further reduced, and attention should be paid to the occurrence and treatment of early postoperative subcutaneous effusion.