[Management and causes of pneumocephalus. Case report and review of the literature]

Abstract

Pneumocephalus is commonly seen after head and facial trauma, tumors of the skull base, after neurosurgery or otorhinolaryngology, and rarely spontaneously. Venous air embolism can result from right-to-left shunting or pneumocephalus. We report two cases of pneumocephalus, one after surgery of the paranasal sinus and the other after transabdominal prostatectomy. Clinical signs of the pneumocephalus were headache followed by epileptic seizures and, respectively, severely impaired consciousness after the operation. Treatment was either revision of the skull base with craniotomy or conservative therapy of the brain edema. Based on these case reports and the medical literature on pneumocephalus, we review the causes and treatment of this rare condition.