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Decompressive craniectomy in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis during pregnancy: a case report

  • Case Report - Neurosurgery and pregnancy
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Abstract

Pregnancy and puerperium are risk factors for cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), a condition which nowadays is treated non-operatively. Decompressive craniectomy is reserved only for emergency settings. We present a 22-year-old pregnant lady, who was transferred at the emergency department with a reduced level of consciousness, headache, and nuchal rigidity. Her MRI study showed CVST, causing hemorrhagic infarct and midline shift. She underwent decompressive craniectomy with partial removal of the hemorrhagic parenchyma. Remarkably, she recovered without any neurological deficits regardless of the substantial temporal lobe damage, while the thrombus nearly resolved using anticoagulation. Decompressive craniectomy can be life-saving in selected CVST patients, followed by anticoagulantion to augment the recanalization process.

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Notes

  1. Modified Rankin Scale

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgery Department, Nicosia General Hospital, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Ifigeneia Gioti, Konstantinos Faropoulos, Constantinos Picolas & Moses-Akis Lambrou

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  1. Ifigeneia Gioti
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  2. Konstantinos Faropoulos
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  3. Constantinos Picolas
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  4. Moses-Akis Lambrou
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Neurosurgery and pregnancy

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Gioti, I., Faropoulos, K., Picolas, C. et al. Decompressive craniectomy in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis during pregnancy: a case report. Acta Neurochir 161, 1349–1352 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-019-03921-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-019-03921-5

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