Mini-Craniotomy Under Local Anesthesia for Chronic Subdural Hematoma: AnEffectiveChoice for Elderly Patients and for Patients in a Resource-Strained Environment
Abstract
Background: Mini-craniotomy for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is associated with lower rates of recurrence. However, the procedure is performed mostly with the patient under general anesthesia (GA) and therefore frequently requires an intensive care unit (ICU) facility, especially in the elderly population. Because of the unavailability of ICU beds, and to avoid GA, we started to perform this procedure with the patient under local anesthesia (LA).MATERIALS AND Methods: This was a retrospective medical chart review conducted in the section of Neurosurgery at the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. The study duration was 1 year. We included patients aged 55 years or older undergoing surgery for CSDH. Clinical characteristics, hospital stay, and recurrence rates were compared between 2 groups, local versus general anesthesia.Results: Thirty-five patients underwent mini-craniotomy for CSDH in the study period. Sixteen patients underwent mini-craniotomy under LA versus 19 patients for GA. Median age for the LA group was 67 years compared with 70 years in the GA group. Four patients from the LAgroup experienced postoperative complications versus 7 from the GA group. Only one patient in the LA group required an ICU bed in the postoperative period. There wasno recurrence in LA group. The overall recurrence was 2.86%.CONCLUSIONS: Mini-craniotomy for CSDH under LA is an equally effective procedure compared with mini-craniotomy under GA. In addition, it minimizes the risks of GA in the elderly population and obviates the need of a postoperative ICU bed. It also reduces operative time and hospital stay as compared with GA.