title: Contralateral acute subdural hematoma after surgical evacuation of acute subdural hematoma.
abstract: We present a case of an 81-year-old woman who developed an acute left-sided subdural hematoma with midline shift shortly after craniotomy for evacuation of a traumatic right-sided acute subdural hematoma. She was immediately taken back to the operating room for evacuation of the left-sided clot and her neurologic outcome was excellent. Believed to be caused by rapid brain decompression, bleeding far from the operative site, such as a within the contralateral subdural space, can occur after a craniotomy and must be promptly recognized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UPMC Presbyterian Suite B-461, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. tomycznd@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Nestor D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Tomycz
authors.forename: Anand V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Germanwala
authors.forename: Kevin A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Walter
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D056424:Decompressive Craniectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D020199:Hematoma, Subdural, Acute / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D012086:Reoperation