Refractory traumatic intracranial hypertension: the role of decompressive craniectomy.

Traumatic brain injury according to the World Health Organization estimates that by 2020 will be the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Intracranial hypertension refractory to medical management is the cause of increased mortality in neurotrauma. There are various measures to control intracranial hypertension, including surgical. Decompressive craniectomy has been routinely used to treat intracranial hypertension secondary to cerebral infarction, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage and trauma. We review the literature to describe the mechanisms, types and indications for this procedure.

El trauma craneoencefálico, según la Organización Mundial de la salud, se estima que para el año 2020 será la tercera causa de morbimortalidad en el mundo. La hipertensión intracraneal refractaria al manejo médico es la causante de la mayor mortalidad en esta población de pacientes. Existen diversas medidas para el control de la hipertensión intracraneal, entre ellas las quirúrgicas. La craniectomía descompresiva ha sido utilizada sistemáticamente para tratar la hipertensión intracraneal secundaria al infarto cerebral, la hemorragia subaracnoidea, la hemorragia intracerebral y el trauma. Se hace una revisión de la literatura para describir los mecanismos fisiopatológicos de la lesión cerebral traumática, así como también los tipos y las indicaciones de este procedimiento.

Iniencephaly: Case Report.

The iniencephaly involves a variable defect in the occipital bone, resulting in a large foramen magnum, partial or total absence of the cervical and thoracic vertebrae, accompanied by incomplete closure of arcs and/or vertebral bodies, significant shortening of the spinal column and hyperextension of the malformed cervicothoracic spine; the individual's face is deviated upward, the mandibular skin is directly continuous with anterior thorax due to the absence of neck. Its incidence is about 1:1000-1:2000 births, so this is a pretty rare neural tube defect. We present a case of iniencephaly in association with cardiovascular, spinal cord, and intracranial malformations that ended demonstrating the low survival of patients affected with this condition.