Stereotactic evacuation of large intracerebral hematoma.

Despite the declining incidence of strokes, statistics regarding intracerebral hemorrhage indicate a relatively stable incidence in this form of cerebral insult over the past 20 years. Intracerebral hemorrhage accounts for 10% of all strokes, and is fatal to 50-60% of its victims. Until the advent of computer-assisted tomography, surgical intervention offered little benefit to patients suffering primary hemorrhage within the deep gray structures of the cerebral hemispheres. Technical advances in both diagnostic and therapeutic instrumentation now permit stereotactic subtotal evacuation of deep intracerebral hematomas.