The place of decompressive surgery in the treatment of uncontrollable post-traumatic intracranial hypertension in children

Abstract

The authors report two cases of post-traumatic uncontrollable intracranial hypertension in children (120 torr in case 1; 90 torr in case 2) who were treated within the first 12 h after trauma by surgery including decompressive craniectomy. The outcome was favourable in both children. Intracranial pressure (ICP) was recorded during the pre-, intra- and postoperative periods and during each specific step of the surgical procedure. Craniectomy alone induced a decrease in ICP of 45% (40 torr) in case 1 and 30% (35 torr) in case 2. Although this method remains controversial, given the lack of controlled trials, it can offer a salvage procedure in children with rapidly worsening intracranial hypertension, allowing survival without disabling neurological sequelae.