title: Malignant cerebral swelling following cranioplasty.
abstract: Over the past few years there have been a number of case reports and small cohort studies that have described so called "malignant" cerebral swelling following an uneventful cranioplasty procedure. The pathophysiology remains to be established however it has been suggested that it may be related to a combination of failure of autoregulation and the use of closed vacuum suction drainage. The current study presents three further patients who had had a decompressive hemicraniectomy for ischaemic stroke. If decompressive craniectomy is utilised in the management of neurological emergencies, close attention and wider reporting of this type of complication is required not only to focus attention on possible management strategies, but also to determine which patients are at most risk of this devastating complication.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Royal Perth Hospitals, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia. Electronic address: stephen.honeybul@health.wa.gov.au.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Honeybul
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Damodaran
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Royal Perth Hospitals, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: C R P
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Lind
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Royal Perth Hospitals, Hospital Avenue, Nedlands, WA 6009, Australia; School of Surgery, University of Western Australia, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000209:etiology*; D056424:Decompressive Craniectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology*
keywords: Cerebral swelling; Complications; Cranioplasty