Chronic subdural hematomas : a comparative study of three types of operative procedures.
OBJECTIVE
Several surgical procedures have been reported for the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH). We compared the results of treatments for CSDH obtained from one burr-hole craniostomy with closed system drainage with or without irrigation, two burr-hole craniostomy with closed system drainage with irrigation, and small craniotomy with irrigation and closed-system drainage.


METHODS
Eighty-seven patients with CSDH underwent surgery at our institution from January 2004 to December 2008. Our patients were classified into three groups according to the operative procedure; group I, one burr-hole craniostomy with closed system drainage with or without irrigation (n = 25), group II, two burr-hole craniostomy with closed system drainage with irrigation (n = 32), and group III, small craniotomy with irrigation and closed-system drainage (n = 30).


RESULTS
Age distribution, male and female ratio, Markwalder's grade on admission and at the time of discharge, size of hematoma before and after surgery, duration of operation, Hounsfield unit of hematoma before and after surgery, duration of hospital treatment, complication rate, and revision rate were categories that we compared between groups. Duration of operation and hospitalization were only two categories which were different. But, when comparing burr hole craniostomy group (group I and group II) with small craniotomy group (group III), duration of post-operative hospital treatment, complication and recurrence rate were statistically lower in small craniotomy group, even though operation time was longer.


CONCLUSIONS
Such results indicate that small craniotomy with irrigation and closed-system drainage can be considered as one of the treatment options in patients with CSDH.
Department of Neurosurgery, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym Medical Center, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea.
Joon Kook
JK
Lee
Jong Hun
JH
Choi
Chang Hyun
CH
Kim
Ho Kook
HK
Lee
Jae Gon
JG
Moon