[Non-surgical forms of cerebellar hematoma (author's transl)]

Spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage is a significant clinical entity because of its important incidence (more than 10 percent of intracranial hemorrhages) and its therapeutic possibilities. The diagnosis of this condition is difficult, but at the presnet time the Emi-scanner easily confirms the diagnosis. The surgical treatment was up until recently the only possible therapeutic approach, and it has been indiscriminately applied to all patients because of the high mortiality rate of this condition (80 percent). Two hypertensive patients who presented spontaneous cerebellar hematomas, verified by the scanner, were not submitted to surgery and both recovered spontaneously without sequelae. The existence of non-surgical forms of spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage is discussed. Special attention is placed upon the variations in the level of consciousness and the presence or absence of acute hydrocephalus in the scanner in order to indicate the convenience of a surgical procedure.