INVOLVEMENT OF THE LOCATION OF INTRAPARENCHYMAL EDEMA AFTER A CEREBROVASCULAR EVENT IN THE APPROACH OF A DECOMPRESSIVE CRANIECTOMY (original) (raw)

Decompressive Craniectomy in Extensive Ischemic Stroke. An Experience in a Single Institution

Arquivos Brasileiros de Neurocirurgia: Brazilian Neurosurgery

Background Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a valuable treatment for reducing early lethality in malignant intracranial hypertension (IH); however, it has been shown that the decision to implement DC in patients with extensive ischemic stroke should not be based solely on the detection of IH with the use of intracranial pressure (ICP) devices. Objective To establish the usefulness of DC in patients with extensive ischemic stroke who came to the emergency room during the period between May 2018 and March 2019. Methods This was an analytical, prospective, and longitudinal study whose population corresponded to all patients with a diagnosis of extensive ischemic stroke. Results The sample consisted of 5 patients, of which 3 were female and 2 males, the average age was 62.2 years old (minimum 49 years old, maximum 77 years old). Of all the patients who underwent DC, it was found that 80% of the patients did not present an increase in intracranial pressure. Decompressive craniectomy was...

Decompressive craniectomy and head injury: brain morphometry, ICP, cerebral hemodynamics, cerebral microvascular reactivity, and neurochemistry

Neurosurgical Review, 2013

There has been renewed interest in decompressive craniectomy as a surgical treatment for elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), although evidence-based clinical data are still lacking and some experimental results are conflicting. Ongoing clinical trials on the use of this operation after traumatic brain injury (TBI) may clarify the clinical application of this technique, however, some pathophysiological issues, such as the timing of this operation, its effect on brain edema formation, and its role for secondary brain damage, are still controversial. This review addresses recent clinical data on the influence of decompressive craniectomy on the brain pathophysiology in TBI. Decompressive craniectomy with dural augmentation enlarges intracranial space so that the swollen cerebral hemisphere could expand out of normal cranial limits, avoiding progression of brain herniation. The gain in intracranial volume results in both the improvement of cerebral compliance and a decrease in ICP; the latter favors a rise in both cerebral blood flow and cerebral microvascular perfusion, which can be accompanied by elevation in brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO 2 ) as well as the return of abnormal metabolic parameters to normal values in cases of cerebral ischemia. Enhancement of edema formation, impairment of cerebrovascular pressure reactivity, and non-restoration of brain aerobic metabolism due to metabolic crisis may occur after craniectomy and require further investigations. This review suggests that decompressive craniectomy as the sole treatment is likely to be insufficient; efforts must be made to maintain adequate brain hemodynamics, preferably coupled with brain metabolism, in addition to treating brain metabolic abnormalities, during postoperative stages.

Volume of Brain Herniation in Patients with Ischemic Stroke After Decompressive Craniectomy

Background Decompressive craniectomy procedures are performed in patients with malignant intracranial hypertension. A bone flap is removed to relieve pressure. Later, a second operation is performed to reconstruct the skull after brain swelling has resolved. This surgical treatment would be improved if it were possible to perform a single operation that decompressed the brain acutely and eliminated the need for a second operation. To design a device and procedure that achieve this objective, it is essential to understand how the brain swells after a craniectomy procedure. Methods We identified 20 patients with ischemic stroke who underwent a decompressive hemicraniectomy operation. Skull defect morphology and postoperative brain swelling were measured using computed tomography scan data. Additional intracranial volume created by placing a hypothetical cranial plate implant offset from the skull surface by 5 mm was measured for each patient. Results The average craniectomy area and brain herniation volume was 9999 ± 1283 mm2 and 30.48 ± 23.56 mL, respectively. In all patients, the additional volume created by this hypothetical implant exceeded the volume of brain herniation observed. Conclusions These findings show that a cranial plate with a 5-mm offset accommodates the brain swelling that occurs in this patient population.