An 86-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit with a chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) and rapid onset of worsening neurological symptoms. She was taken to the operating room for a mini-craniotomy for evacuation of the CSDH including excision of the dura and CSDH membrane. Postoperatively, a subdural evacuation port system (SEPS) was integrated into the craniotomy site and left in...

Pseudoaneurysms of the superficial temporal artery are an uncommon vascular lesion of the external carotid system and most often the result of blunt head trauma. The frequency of pseudoaneurysms of the superficial temporal artery developing after craniotomy is exceedingly low and only a few cases have been reported. We present a case of pseudoaneurysm of this type in a 45-year-old male who unde...

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare pulmonary condition often presenting with spontaneous pneumothorax. Imaging or biopsy confirm the diagnosis. Published case reports describe the anesthetic management of patients with LAM undergoing brief procedures. No reports describe the anesthetic management for lengthy neurosurgical procedures. We describe anesthetic management for craniotomy in a p...

OBJECTIVE The surgical clipping of paraclinoid segment internal carotid artery aneurysms is considered difficult because of the complex anatomical location and important neighboring structures. Our experiences of pterional craniotomy and extradural anterior clinoidectomy (EAC) to clip paraclinoid aneurysms are reported herein. METHODS We present two patients with paraclinoid aneurysms who und...

Is Craniotomy for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Treated Properly in the Latest AHA Guideline? To the Editor: Beneficial effects of the surgical intervention, especially craniotomy, for the treatment of patients with putaminal hemorrhage, is inconclusive. In the recent issue of Stroke,1 guidelines for the treatment of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage were presented. Craniotomy for the supratentor...

The co-occurrence of primary brain tumor and pregnancy poses unique challenges to the treating physician. If a rapidly growing lesion causes life-threatening mass effect, craniotomy for tumor debulking becomes urgent. The choice between awake craniotomy versus general anesthesia becomes complicated if the tumor is encroaching on eloquent brain because considerations pertinent to both patient sa...

OBJECTIVE To identify clinical factors predictive of patients returning to the operating room (OR) for hemorrhage after craniotomy. METHODS A national surgical quality database (American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project) was reviewed for patients undergoing craniotomy based on Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code. CPT codes were also used to identify pati...

Temporal hollowing occurs to varying degrees after pterional craniotomy. The most common cause of temporal hollowing is a bony defect of the pterional and temporal regions due to the resection of the sphenoid ridge and temporal squama for adequate exposure without overhang. The augmentation of such bony defects is important in preventing craniofacial deformities and postoperative hollowness. Te...

AIM Keyhole endoscopy is a promising therapeutic option for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We sought to compare the clinical outcomes between keyhole endoscopy surgery and craniotomy for basal ganglia ICH. MATERIAL AND METHODS The authors performed a retrospective analysis of the clinical and radiographic data obtained in 28 keyhole endoscopic procedures and 30 craniotomy procedu...

We present a very rare case of a patient with an infected subdural hematoma due to Propionibacterium acnes. A 63-year-old male complained of dizziness and was admitted to our hospital. He had a history of left chronic subdural hematoma due to a traffic accident, which had been conservatively treated. Physical, neurological and laboratory examinations revealed no definite abnormality. Plain CT s...