The effect of surgical treatment for the patients with chronic subdural hematoma manifesting dementia

Sachio Suzuki, Kuniaki Nakahara, Satoshi Utsuki, Akira Kurata, Masaru Yamada, Kiyotaka Fujii

Department of Neurosurgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan

　　The incidence of dementia due to chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) following head injury has increased. Patients with focal neurologic deficits due to mass effect of hematoma are good candidates for surgical treatment of the subdural hematoma. We studied the effect of surgical treatment of CSDH in patients manifesting dementia only. Four patients with CSDH manifesting dementia only underwent surgical drainage of the hematoma. They were 2 men and 2 women ranging in age from 45 to 74 years (mean 64 years). The hematomas (mean volume 83 ml) were located at the left side of the head and produced no focal neurological deficits. To evaluate the patients’ higher brain function we used the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) before and after treatment. In all cases we observed postoperative improvement in the WAIS-R. Their performance IQ scores showed better improvement than their verbal IQ scores. Our findings suggest that patients with CSDH who present with dementia but no focal neurological deficits benefit from surgical treatment.

Address correspondence to Dr. Sachio Suzuki:Department of Neurosurgery, Kitasato University School of Medicine(1-15-1 Kitasato Minami-ku Sagamihara Kanagawa 252-0374, Japan)