# How much of a human skull can be/has been replaced?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-human-skull-can-be-has-been-replaced/429456>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 10, 2007, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-human-skull-can-be-has-been-replaced/429456 "2007-12-10T07:15:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2007, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-of-a-human-skull-can-be-has-been-replaced/429456/1 "2007-12-10T07:15:05Z")

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Right, well, we all know that holes (from injury or disease) in a living human’s skull can be surgically repaired with a metal plate attached over the bone, and I’ve even seen a kid who had over _half_ his skull replaced with acrylic after a gunshot wound destroyed it (and the brain beneath).

My question is: how much of the skull, at maximum, could we replace with current medical technology, without killing the patient (whom I’d judge has been through enough already)? How much _has_ been replaced in a single person? Could you replace the entire cranial vault?