Park Hae-Yeon, Kim Sehee, Kim Joon-Sung, Lim Seong Hoon, Kim Young Il, Lee Dong Hoon, Hong Bo Young
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Department of Neurosurgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Ann Rehabil Med. 2019 Feb;43(1):111-114. doi: 10.5535/arm.2019.43.1.111. Epub 2019 Feb 28.
Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is commonly performed in patients with intracranial hypertension or brain edema due to traumatic brain injury. Infrequently, neurologic deteriorations accompanied by sunken scalp may occur after DC. We report two patients with traumatic subdural hemorrhage who had neurologic deteriorations accompanied by sunken scalp after DC. Neurologic function improved dramatically in both patients after cranioplasty. Monitoring for neurologic deterioration after craniectomy is advised. For patients showing neurologic deficit with a sunken scalp, early cranioplasty should be considered.