The role of autologous bone in cranioplasty. A systematic review of complications and risk factors by using stored bone

Autologous bone cranioplasty is associated with a high complication rate, particularly infections and bone resorption. Although there are studies on the incidence and risk factors for complications following autologous bone cranioplasty, the study design is typically limited to retrospective analysis with multiple statistical explorations in small cohorts from single centers. Thus, there is a need for systematic analysis of aggregated data to determine the rate and risk factors for cranioplasty complications.

To determine the incidence and risk factors for complications after autologous bone cranioplasty.

In this systemic review, we conducted a Medline, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science search: 11,172 papers were identified. Duplicates were removed and only articles on complications following autologous bone cranioplasty between the years 2000 and 2022 were included. After title, abstract, and article screening, 132 papers were included for further analysis.

In total, the 132 studies are based on 13,592 patients (14960 implants). One third of the studies include patients with less than 3 months of postoperative follow-up. Complication management (flap removal, revision without flap removal, and conservative treatment) of infection, bone resorption, and hematoma/seromas are not reported in 19–30% of the studies. In the studies with defined complications management, the overall complication rate is 7.6% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) [7.1–8.2]) for infection, 14.4% (95% CI [13.7–15.2]) for bone resorption with indication for reconstruction, and 5.8%, (95% CI 5.2–6.5) for hematoma/seromas. Factors such as younger age, an extended interval between craniectomy and cranioplasty, the use of a fragmented bone implant, a larger implant size, and shunt treatment are linked to an increased risk of postoperative bone resorption.

The lack of consistent definitions of complications, variations in follow-up time, and small study cohorts limit the external validity of many studies. Overall, the rate of bone flap resorption that required reoperation is high, while the rate of infectious complications is comparable to synthetic implants. Thus, autologous bone should preferably be used in cases without strong risk factors for bone necrosis.