Neurosurg Focus
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Cavernous hemangioma of the calvaria is a very rare disease, and patients usually present with headaches or a visible skull deformity. Few reports of patients presenting with intradiploic or epidural hemorrhages are found in the literature. No case of an intradural hemorrhage from a cavernous hemangioma of the skull has been reported to date. ⋯ Postoperatively, the patient experienced immediate relief of his symptoms and had no clinical or radiological recurrence. Calvarial cavernous hemangiomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of nontraumatic SDHs. Additionally, skull lesions that present with intracranial hemorrhages must be identified and resected at the time of hematoma evacuation to prevent recurrences.
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The incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and subsequent pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients undergoing neurosurgery has been reported to be as high as 25%, with a mortality rate from PE between 9 and 50%. Even with the use of pneumatic compression devices, the incidence of DVT has been reported to be 32% in these patients, making prophylactic heparin therapy desirable. ⋯ Therefore, neurosurgeons must balance the risk of PE against the increased risk of postoperative ICH from prophylactic heparin for DVT. The authors review the literature on the incidence of DVT and PE in neurosurgical patients, focusing on the incidence of ICH related to the use of unfractionated and low-molecular-weight heparin in this patient population.