Outcome of patients with severe head injury after decompressive craniectomy

Decompressive craniectomy is an operative option for the neurosurgeon in cases of generalized traumatic brain edema. While the outcome of patients after decompressive craniectomy is often poor, we tried to identify predictors of a favorable course of the injury. Therefore, 131 patients who received a decompressive craniectomy at the Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin (ukb) between September 1997 and September 2005 due to severe traumatic brain injury were followed up. Overall outcome was measured using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Sixty-three patients (48%) died during their initial hospital stay and another 27 (21%) were discharged in a vegetative state (GOS 2). Thirty-two patients (24%) were discharged with severe disability, while another nine (7%) had moderate disability at discharge. At an average of 49 months after surgery, 75 patients (68%) were either dead or in a vegetative state (GOS 1 and 2). The results stress again that the prognosis after traumatic brain injury (TBI) with decompressive craniectomy (DC) is unfavorable. Age, midline shift, and status of the basal cisterns on cranial computed tomography (cCT) were associated with the long-term outcome. When weighing whether to initiate the last resort intervention of decompressive craniectomy, the predictive factors detailed here should be taken into consideration.