Indications and limitations for CT-guided stereotaxic surgery of hypertensive intracerebral haemorrhage, based on the analysis of postoperative complications and poor ability of daily living in 158 cases.

The authors have studied the indications and limitations for computerized tomography (CT)-guided stereotaxic surgery (CTGS Surgery) of hypertensive intracerebral haematomas (ICH), based on the analysis of 158 patients in our institutions. Of 158 patients, 120 had putaminal haemorrhage, 21 thalamic, 14 subcortical and 3 in other locations. The patients ranged in age from 37 to 82 years (average 60). Haematoma volume ranged from 8 to 140 ml (average 43). Eleven patients in the series worsened postoperatively because of rebleeding in 6 cases, cerebral infarction in 2, and unknown causes in the remaining 3 cases. Seven of the 11 patients pre-operatively had untreated hypertension and 3 had mild liver dysfunction without major haemorrhagic tendency. Most postoperative complications were seen in older patients and in those with severe neurological deficit or chronic disease. All these cases ended in poor outcome. From our study, we propose three indications for CTGS Surgery: absolute, aggressive and passive indications. The absolute indication is applied to those who would have been operated on by conventional open surgery. The aggressive indication is for those with mild neurological deficit so that early rehabilitation can be started to regain higher cerebral function. The passive indication is for elderly patients and those with severe neurological deficit or chronic disease. This indication must be decided carefully because poor outcome is likely.