CORRELATION BETWEEN SIZE OF
DECOMPRESSIVE CRANIECTOMY
AND SURVIVAL OUTCOME IN
PATIENTS WITH SEVERE
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
Belma Mešević dr.Mersad Baručija
Amra Novalić
Ermin Silajdžić
What is decompressive craniectomy (DC)?
operational procedure where surgeon removes,
permanently or temporarily, part of a skull- bone flap,
using osteoplastic or osteoclastic approach
adding dura-patch or autograft, while reconstructing dura,
there is additional space for expansion of endocranial
structures
Salvage treatment
20% survival rate
recommendation is opening with a diameter bigger than
10cm
DC through history
Ranshoff 1971; Miyazaki 1973;
Hemicraniecto Total
my for the calvariectomy
menagement of
acute subdural
haemathoma
Miyazaki Makino 1975;
Cushing 1905; described (Bilateral)
subtemporal bifrontal frontotemporopari
craniectomy for craniectomy in etal craniectomy
inaccessible 1966 for
brain tumors traumatic brain
edema and
Kjellberg
popularized it in
1971 for massive Fig 1:
http://www.surgicalneurology.org
Fig 2: Trauma flap for frontotemporoparietal DC
Handbook of Neurosurgery; Mark S. Greenberg, 6th edition; p:646, fig
24-1
AIM: determine correlation between size of craniectomy
and survival outcomes in patients with severe traumatic
brain injury treated between 2013 and 2016 in
Neurosurgery Clinic (UCCS)
antero-posterior (AP) diameter
distance between temporal base and lower craniectomy
edge (BE distance)
HA1-Bigger AP diameter improves survival rate in patients
with severe traumatic brain injury
HA2-Reduction of BE distance improves survival in patients
with severe traumatic brain injury
35 procedures done between june 2013 and
november 2016
27 males, 8 females
9 survived
Graph 1: Survival between sexes
30
25
20
15
10
0
Male Female
Exitus Letalis Survived
We included 20 patients in this retrospective study
■ excluding criteria were:
patients who had DC for a reason other than trauma,
death before the first postoperative computed
tomography (CT) scan (due to inability to measure
craniectomy size),
bilateral craniectomy as first procedure.
Fig 3: Preopreative CT
Fig 4: Postoperative CT, showing
the measuring method on right
sided FTP DC (imitating the shape
of the head)
We measured biggest AP diameter
and BE distance
Fig 5: Postoperative CT, showing
the measuring method on left sided
FTP DC (imitating the shape of the
head)
Patient data
Causes of severe traumatic brain injury
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Gunshot Fall Unknown Traffic accidents
x Pedestrian Car accident Bicycle accident
We used Student’s t test and Point Biserial
correlation
Average AP diameter was Average BE distance
12.02cm was 9.95mm
67% of patients with bigger 58% of patients with
AP diameter survived smaller BE distance
P value was 0.0428 survived
P value was 0.026
Conclusion
1. there is significant correlation between AP diameter and survival rate:
bigger AP diametere improves survival rate in patients with severe
brain injury
2. reduction of BE distance improves survival
3. standard craniectomy size should be bigger than 12 cm
4. BE distance less than 10mm