• Yung-Chun Hsu, Po-Hao HuangAbelADivision of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan., Fu-Ren Xiao, Lu-Ting Kuo, Jui-Chang Tsai, and Dar-Ming Lai.
• Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan.
• World Neurosurg. 2019 Apr 1; 124: e431e435e431-e435.

BackgroundWe redesigned decompressive craniectomy and cranioplasty procedures to decrease the inherent risk of complications. This novel technique, called decompressive cranioplasty, not only may decrease the complication rate but also may improve the cosmetic result, obviate the need for artificial skull implant, and increase the decompressive volume compared with traditional craniectomy.MethodsIn decompressive cranioplasty, the Agnes Fast craniotomy was adopted without cutting the temporalis muscle from the underlying bone flap. After opening the dura with or without removal of intracranial hematomas, duraplasty was performed with an intracranial pressure monitor inserted. Four miniplates were bent into a "Z" shape, and the vascularized bone flap was elevated approximately 1.2-1.5 cm above the outer cortex of the skull and fixed with the miniplates. Subsequent cranioplasty was done with a mini-incision on the miniplate sites and reshaping of the miniplate to align the outer cortex of the bone flap.ResultsWe successfully performed decompressive cranioplasty in 3 emergent cases-2 traumatic subdural hematomas and 1 malignant middle cerebral artery infarction. Postoperative brain computed tomography demonstrated adequate decompression in all cases. Cosmetic outcome was excellent, and there was no temporal hallowing. Mastication function was not affected. At 6-month follow-up, there was no bone flap shrinkage and no hydrocephalus.ConclusionsDecompressive cranioplasty is a safe and effective method in the management of patients with brain edema and intracranial hypertension. It is simple to perform and may reduce the morbidity associated with traditional decompressive craniectomy and subsequent cranioplasty.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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