The therapeutic value of cranioplasty in individuals with brain injury.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of cranioplasty on recovery. RESEARCH DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHOD AND PROCEDURES: Retrospective chart review conducted in 2011 and 2012 on adult inpatients with craniectomy who completed a continuous episode of inpatient rehabilitation before and after receiving their cranioplasty. Patients were matched 1:1 or age, gender, functional level at admission, injury severity and length of stay with inpatients who completed rehabilitation before cranioplasty. Main outcome measures include FIMTM (Functional Independence Measure) and FIMTM efficiency [(FIMTM discharge - FIMTMadmission)/number of days in rehabilitation]. To examine within and between group differences, analyses included paired and independent t-tests, Pearson correlations and chi-square analyses. RESULTS: Twenty-six individuals (13 from the cranioplasty group and 13 from the comparison group) were analysed. FIMTM efficiency increased following cranioplasty [0.29 to 0.61; t(12) = -2.77, p = 0.017]. The mean FIMTM efficiency for the cranioplasty group was below that of the comparison group prior to cranioplasty [0.28 ± 0.37 and 0.39 ± 0.32, p = .41], but increased following cranioplasty [0.61 ± 0.71 and 0.39 ± 0.32, p = .32]. An improvement in FIMTM efficiency following cranioplasty was more commonly seen among individuals with less severe brain injuries (75%, χ2 = 3.8, df = 1, p = 0.053). CONCLUSION: Rate of recovery increased following cranioplasty and exceeded that of the comparison group suggesting that cranioplasty may contribute to improvement.