Surgical treatment of poor-grade aneurysm patients.

Patients who are severely struck by subarachnoid hemorrhage (the so called poor-grades) have been usually considered almost hopeless. Conversely, it is now becoming apparent that a significant number of poor grades could be perhaps salvageable during the first hours after the hemorrhage. In this paper we are reporting the results of an aggressive management protocol including immediate intensive care management and early surgery. Early surgery was offered to all patients without vital brain destructions on CT-scan, with treatable intracranial hypertension and stabilization of vital parameters. By this attitude, among 32 initial unselected consecutive poor grades, we could manage by early surgery 15 patients (47%), obtaining 11 favourable outcomes (35%). These encouraging results in the treatment of patients otherwise destined to ominous consequences are now to be compared with the presently available less invasive endovascular techniques.