title: [History of the craniotomy].
abstract: Craniotomy can be defined as the neurosurgical procedure aimed at achieving a wide cranial opening with the final purpose of performing a surgical therapeutic manoeuvre within the intracranial space. The current surgical technique for craniotomy is the final result of the development of the procedure since its introduction at the end of the 19th century. The very first wide cranial approach was introduced in 1889 by Wagner, and described as a 'temporary cranial resection'. This procedure could be named today as 'osteoplastic craniotomy with pedicle bone flap'. The final result of the procedural development of the craniotomy is the 'osteoplastic craniotomy with free bone flap', used widely around the world. In this paper, we review the historic evolution of craniotomy from a technical perspective.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Valencia, España. Electronic address: gonzalez_jos@gva.es.
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: González-Darder
mesh_terms: D003399:Craniotomy / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D012886:Skull; D013524:Surgical Flaps
keywords: Apertura craneal temporal; Craneotomía; Craneotomía osteoplástica; Craniotomy; Osteoplastic craniotomy; Temporary cranial resection