Can Kryptonite Bone Cement Be Used To Inject Into My Forehead Defect?

Q: I am a 21 year old male who was involved in a car accident when I was 16 years old. As a result, I have a depressed area on my forehead. I would like to know if Kryptonite Bone Cement could be injected to fill the depression?

A: The reconstruction of frontal bone defects or contour issues is often done using onlay cranioplasty techniques. It can be a highly successful procedure as synthetic material is added onto the bone defect area. Various materials have been used over the years, most commonly acrylic (PMMA, polymethylmethacrylate) and hydroxyapatite. (HA) While there may be advocates and some minor advantages and disadvantages with them, both will do the job equally well from a bone reshaping standpoint. Both materials require, however, an open approach for placement. For men in the forehead area, a scalp incision may not be worth the trade-off depending upon the size of the forehead problem. If an existing scalp scar is present from a prior neurosurgery procedure, then that is a different matter and an open cranioplasty would be the best approach.

Kryptonite bone cement is the first cranioplasty material that has physical properties to make it injectable. This means it still requires an incision but it can be as small as less than an inch through which scalp tissue elevation is done around the bone defect area. The material is then mixed and injection through a long flexible introducer tube into the defect site. Shaping of the injected material is done from the outside by external pressure.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana