Unexpected Intracranial Hemorrhage and Death After Cranioplasty in a Patient With Massive Hemispheric Infarction

The benefits and common complications of cranioplasty are often mentioned, but fatal complications are rarely documented. Here, the authors report a patient of intracranial hemorrhage and death after cranioplasty and discussed the possible mechanism. A 42-year-old man was admitted with the diagnosis of massive cerebral infarction in left fronto-temporo- parietal lobe, emergency surgery for decompressive large craniotomy and Encephalo-Myo-Synangiosis were performed. One year after surgery, cranioplasty was performed using a titanium mesh plate. Intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage was occurred and dura mater was repaired using pieces of silk. During the postoperative anesthesia emergence, the patient had epileptic seizures and did not wake after surgery. The authors also observed about 150 mL bloody cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the subcutaneous vacuum drainage system within 2 hours. Emergency computed tomography of the brain showed epidural, subdural, subarachnoid hemorrhages in the postischemic area, the middle line left, and the brain stem swelling. The patient's family refused to immediately remove the titanium mesh plate. Finally, nonoperative treatment is invalid and the patient's neurological condition did not recover and he died 3 days after the surgery. In the authors' mind, patients with previous massive cerebral infarction and Encephalo-Myo-Synangiosis undergoing cranioplasty might be at heightened risk of a fatal event than other cranioplasty. Therefore, the patients should be paid more attention to prevent and treat the fatal complications.