Is Bone Cement A Good Choice To Fix My Skull Dent?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m looking into getting a small to mid sized dent I have on the top left side of my skull fixed.

I’m unsure of the bone cement treatment as the three biggest worries I have about it is can the cement ever shatter once placed into the skull? I have read some articles online that this is a possibility.

Secondly, What effect can it have on day to day activities e.g. going for a run, playing soccer and other physical activities. Can such activities cause the cement to dislodge?

Thirdly, What kind of longevity does bone cement have and can it degrade? I have had no success in finding any articles online regarding this.

I would appreciate if you can take some time to answer these questions for me.

A: In answer to your skull dent correction questions:

The options to treat a skull dent are either bone cements or a custom skull implant. Hydroxyapatite bone cements are basically ceramic so they can potentially fracture of struck…although I have never seen it in 30 years of its use. PMMA bone cement is as hard as plastic and therefore is much harder to fracture Custom skull implants are composed of solid silicone and can never be made to fracture no matter how much force is applied.
No physical activity can make a bone cement or implant on the skull become displaced.
Bone cements and skull implants will last a lifetime as they do not degrade or breakdown…ever.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana