Implantation of Codubix® CT cranial prosthesis, 2015 05 14, Lithuania

Report: Implantation of Codubix® CT cranial prosthesis 2015 05 14 – Žydrūnė Musienė, Lithuania

1. Place and date of the operation

The operation was carried out in Kaunas, in a public facility, at the Kaunas clinic centre at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.

Date of the operation: 2015 05 14

2. Situation/circumstances

Patient R.S. (born on 06/06/1962, 52 years) was injured in 2014. He suffered the trauma at home, fell down the stairs on his head. After the injury there was an attempt to restore the bone defect using his own skull bone, but the bone was rejected by the patient’s immune system. Because of the very large bone loss other bone recovery were not possible.
The patient recovered after the injury, having only a minor neurological damage (small difficulty in speaking, slight speech impediment), but there remained a large defect / bone loss in the skull.
The patient learned about new possibilities involving the Codubix 3D prosthesis from the professor / head of the neurological department at the Kaunas hospital. The doctor turned to TZMO Lietuva to produce an individual prosthesis for the patient.

3. The patient before the surgery

4. Before the surgery

In April, 2015 under my direction all the necessary computer images were taken and transferred to the Tricomed company. Because the bone damage was very big, the photos had to be very precise to prepare a correct prosthesis. Tricomed began the production of the prosthesis. It took 6 days.

Photos of the bone loss of the patient R.S.:

5. During the surgery

The operation was conducted by docent R. Vilcinis – manager of the department of traumatic brain injuries. The operation lasted for about 3 hours. The implantation of the Codubix 3D prosthesis alone took about 20 minutes. The prosthesis fitted perfectly, so the prostheses needed no additional adjustment. The prosthesis was combined with the bone by means of sutures. The manager of TZMO Lietuva Kristina Penkevičiūtė also participated in the procedure.

6. Before and during the surgery

Modelling and preparing the place for the implant:

Fixation of the implant:

The patient after the surgery:

7. After the surgery

1st day: The patient’s condition was stable – there were no signs of possible complications. The patient was transferred to the sub-department of the neurosurgical department. 2nd day: The patient’s condition was stable. No signs of complications. The patient was able get up on his own.

3 day and later: The patient’s condition was stable. On the 8th day after the operation the patient returned home to outpatient care.

8. Doctors’ evaluation

The head of the department and the patient’s doctor are pleased with the outcome of the operation. The bone loss was large, and therefore there was no other way to reconstruct the bone damage. Only the individual prosthesis could do that. Patient’s recovery is very fast. The patient could return home after a week and is now under outpatient treatment.

9. Problems/remarks

During the preparation and implantation of the prosthesis there were no problems or remarks.