Cranioplasty

Cranioplasty...Do I do it? 

Craniectomy. That is the medical term for when they removed my skull for good. (The first go-round was a craniotomy because they replaced my skull.)  Now I must decide if I want a cranioplasty with a custom made patch, made of methyl methacrylate. Just a normal Friday in the Stringham house. 

The biggest risk is infection.  My scalp has (by now) adhered to the outer layer of my brain. Sometimes they leave 2 layers of scalp on the brain and sandwich the implant in between the scalp's layers. Interesting.  If they do peel away all of the scalp, I'm at greater risk of stroke and bleeding. Fun stuff. 

There have been multiple studies on this procedure. Complications occur in 33-45% of these surgeries. Again, I have completely underestimated the surgery. Again.

If I don't do it, I live with fear in the back of my mind. I didn't ride on a 4 wheeler last weekend because I didn't want to put myself at risk. I avoided roller coaster during our trip to OCNJ. I'm more hesitant with the boys climbing all over me.

There is also a rare phenomena called "Sinking Scalp Syndrome". It is as bad as it sounds. No one even warned me of this, so it must be very rare. 

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Follow up:

I saw my brain surgeon last week and we decided against me having the surgery.  He feels that, with my history, I'm at a greater risk of complications from surgery than I am at risk for problems with my "hole". I have "no restrictions" because of where my hole is - there are a lot of muscles over it.  If I have problems later, we will reconsider.