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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Intrathecal Application of a Fluorescent Dye for the Identification of Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks in Cochlear Malformation
Published on: February 29, 2020
Tension pneumocephalus with cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea in a post craniotomy patient
Nicholas H Smallwood1, Shiva Sreenivasan
1StR Acute Medicine, Department of Critical Care, Gloucester Royal Hospital, Great Western Road, Gloucester, GL1 3NN.
Abstract:
Tension pneumocephalus is an uncommon but important complication of neurosurgery, often requiring urgent surgical intervention. It should be considered in any patient presenting with neurological symptoms after recent craniotomy, particularly if they also have clinical features consistent with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. We describe a patient who presented four weeks post-craniotomy with fluctuating neurological signs and CSF rhinorrhoea, who made a full recovery following repair of a frontal sinus defect and dural tear.
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