Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation
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Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is increasingly recognized as a cause of lobar cerebral hemorrhage in normotensive elderly individuals. Isolated reports have suggested that neurosurgical intervention entails a high risk of precipitated hemorrhage. We identified 16 pathologically confirmed cases of cerebral amyloid angiopathy. ⋯ Recurrent postoperative cerebral hemorrhage was seen in four patients at 2 days, 9 days, 6 weeks, and 10 months, but surgery was thought to have precipitated the cerebral hemorrhage in only one patient. Recurrent cerebral hemorrhage also was seen in two of the eight nonoperated cases. Recurrent cerebral hemorrhage is characteristic of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, but we conclude that neurosurgical intervention, particularly evacuation of hematomas, is not associated with major risk of precipitated hemorrhage.