Cerebellar hemorrhage after burr hole drainage of supratentorial chronic subdural hematoma

Abstract

Cerebellar hemorrhage is an unusual complication of supratentorial neurosurgery. To the best of our knowledge, only three case reports have described the occurrence of cerebellar hemorrhage after burr hole drainage for the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma (SDH). We present the case of a patient with this rare postoperative complication of cerebellar hemorrhage after burr hole drainage of a chronic SDH. Although burr hole drainage for the treatment of chronic SDH is rare complication, it is necessary to be aware of the possibility of cerebellar hemorrhage after supratentorial surgery, even with limited surgery such as burr hole drainage of a chronic SDH.

Keywords: Cerebral hemorrhage; Complication; Craniotomy; Subdural hematoma; Supratentorial.

Fig. 1

Preoperative T2-weighted axial magnetic resonance images of the brain show a bifrontal subdural hematoma without abnormal findings in the posterior fossa.

Fig. 2

Postoperative computed tomography images obtained 6 hours after surgery show resolution of the subdural hematoma (A) and left-sided cerebellar hemorrhage (B).

Fig. 3

Postoperative computed tomography images taken on postoperative day 14 show resolution of the cerebellar hemorrhage.

Fig. 4

The normal structure of posterior circulation is seen in arterial phase (A) and venous phase (B) of conventional cerebral angiography.