[Drainage of the Frontal Sinus to Cure Epidural and Brain Abscesses Developed after Surgery via Anterior...

We report a woman whose anterior communicating artery (AcomA) aneurysm was clipped via an anterior interhemispheric approach when she was 49 years old. At the age of 51, she presented with a subcutaneous abscess and osteomyelitis, so the cranioplastic bone was removed. Six months later, she underwent cranioplasty using hydroxyapatite. Her subcutaneous abscess recurred and the epidural abscess and hydroxyapatite were removed 11 years later after the first operation. The patient underwent observation therapy for the next 4 years, as the dura was ossified. She presented with frontal swelling 15 years after aneurysmal clipping, and neither abscess puncture nor the administration of antibacterial drugs was curative. The patient also complained of chill, thirst, and tremor, and developed disorientation 25 days later. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed extension of the epidural and subcutaneous abscesses to a frontal brain abscess. After consulting an otolaryngologist, we performed frontal drainage into the nasal cavity. After making a bicoronal skin incision, the subcutaneous, epidural, and intracapsular brain abscesses were removed while taking care not to damage the capsules. A silicone T-tube was placed in the bifrontal epidural cavity (previous frontal sinus), and its tip was inserted into the nasal cavity through the nasofrontal duct for abscess drainage. After 3 months, the tube was removed. A CT scan acquired 10 years later showed no brain abscess, perifocal edema, or epidural and subcutaneous abscesses.