ReviewFrontiers in neurology2018
Complications of Decompressive Craniectomy.
Review in Frontiers in neurology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surgery for spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Pre- and post-cranioplasty hydrocephalus in patients following decompressive craniectomy for ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurosurgical review · 2025Pooled it
- Prospective Randomized Controlled Study Comparing Decompressive Craniectomy with Watertight Duraplasty and without Watertight Duraplasty in Traumatic Brain Injury.Asian journal of neurosurgery · 2026Article
- Neuromonitoring in the Decompressed Brain: Rethinking Physiology, Monitoring, and Thresholds After Decompressive Craniectomy.Neurocritical care · 2026Article
- A Rare Case of External Brain Tamponade after Craniectomy: Clinical Challenges and Management.Annals of African medicine · 2026Article
- Outcomes of Surgical Site Infection Following Cranial Surgery From a UK Tertiary Center.Open forum infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Acute Spontaneous Paradoxical Herniation After Large Cerebral Meningioma Resection and Decompressive Craniectomy: A Case Report and Systematic Review of the Literature.Neurosurgery practice · 2026Article
- Extending the Reach of the Inferior Trapezius Flap in Occipital Reconstruction: A Technical Refinement with Dorsal Scapular Artery Sacrifice-A Case Report.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Neuroworsening in traumatic brain injury: A consensus of the Latin American Brain Injury Consortium (LABIC) and the Latin American Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (FLANC) expert group.Neurosurgical review · 2026Article
- Feasibility of Endoscopic Surgery Versus Craniotomy for Large Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.Neurocritical care · 2026Article
- Outcomes of cranioplasty with customized artificial bone flap made by 3D printing technique in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.Journal of cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery · 2026Article
- Syndrome of the trephined: from pathophysiology to cranioplasty - an updated narrative review.Brain & spine · 2026Review
- Brain Sag: An Under-recognized Complication of Craniotomy.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2025Review
- Article
- Evolution from Decompressive Craniectomy to Early Minimally Invasive Surgical Approach for Refractory Increased Intracranial Pressure Treatment: Merit or Social Problems?Turkish journal of anaesthesiology and reanimation · 2025Article
- Scalp necrosis following decompressive craniectomy in pediatric patient populations: illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2025Article
- Article
- Feasibility Study of Endoscopic Surgery for Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage with Large Hematoma: a Comparison with Craniotomy Using Propensity Score Matching Analysis.Neurocritical care · 2025Article
- Brain Atrophy Is Associated with Hematoma Expansion in Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Depending on Coagulation Status.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Decompressive craniectomy (DC) has become the definitive surgical procedure to manage medically intractable rise in intracranial pressure due to stroke and traumatic brain injury. With incoming evidence from recent multi-centric randomized controlled trials to support its use, we could expect a significant rise in the number of patients who undergo this procedure. Although one would argue that the procedure reduces mortality only at the expense of increasing the proportion of the severely disabled, what is not contested is that patients face the risk of a large number of complications after the operation and that can further compromise the quality of life. Decompressive craniectomy (DC), which is designed to overcome the space constraints of the Monro Kellie doctrine, perturbs the cerebral blood, and CSF flow dynamics. Resultant complications occur days to months after the surgical procedure in a time pattern that can be anticipated with advantage in managing them. New or expanding hematomas that occur within the first few days can be life-threatening and we recommend CT scans at 24 and 48 h postoperatively to detect them. Surgeons should also be mindful of the myriad manifestations of peculiar complications like the syndrome of the trephined and neurological deterioration due to paradoxical herniation which may occur many months after the decompression. A sufficiently large frontotemporoparietal craniectomy, 15 cm in diameter, increases the effectiveness of the procedure and reduces chances of external cerebral herniation. An early cranioplasty, as soon as the brain is lax, appears to be a reasonable choice to mitigate many of the late complications. Complications, their causes, consequences, and measures to manage them are described in this chapter.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.