Abstract:Objective To investigate the effecacy and safety of three-dimensional molding materials in the repair of cranial defects. Methods Clinical data of 100 patients who underwent cranioplasty using three-dimensional molding materials in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Material-related complications were defined as implant fracture or exposure. The patients were categorized into none-complication group and complication group according to the occurrence of material-related complication. The prognosis of patients with traumatic brain injury was evaluated using the Glasgow outcome scale (GOS), and the prognosis of patients with cerebral hemorrhage was evaluated using the modified Rankin scale (mRS). All the cases received cranioplasty before July 6, 2018. After enrollment, telephone follow-up was conducted to collect patients’ satisfaction with the restoration of cranial shape and functional recovery after cranioplasty. Results Among the 100 patients, material-related complications were found in 12 cases (12.0%), mainly occurring within 1 year after cranioplasty (75.0%). Univariate analysis revealed that diabetes mellitus, the etiology of craniectomy, the types of material for cranioplasty and intraoperative treatment of temporal muscle were associated with the occurrence of complications (all P<0.05). Cranioplasty significantly improved the short- and long-term prognosis (both P<0.01). Of all the patients, 65.0% were satisfied with the appearance after skull repair, 31.0% were basically satisfied, and 4% were dissatisfied. In addition, 48.0% of the patients were very satisfied with the functional recovery after cranioplasty, 43.0% were mostly satisfied and 9.0% were dissatisfied. Conclusions According to this study, three-dimensional molding materials have good effeacy and high safety in cranial defects repair surgeries. However, complications related to the repair materials still need to be taken seriously by clinical.