Mini-craniotomy for subdural hematoma – Experience in a tertiary care centre

Abstract There are many accepted surgical approaches for the evacuation of chronic subdural hematoma. Although the burrhole drainage is the most commonly used approach, few articles using mini-craniotomy as a treatment modality have shown similar outcomes. We describe the outcomes in our series of patients who underwent mini craniotomy and evacuation of chronic subdural hematoma as the primary surgical procedure in a tertiary care centre in Tamil Nadu, India. We found a lower recurrence rate of 4.3%, no mortality and similar duration of hospital stay. Our data suggest that minicraniotomy can be done quickly with good clinical outcomes, lesser rates of recurrence and complications. However, well designed multi-centre randomized clinical trials comparing the various techniques for chronic subdural hematoma is required in order to provide evidence for recommending clinical best practice guidelines.