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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2001;286:2084.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

New Orleans—Removing a large portion of the skull—a technique sometimes used on stroke and trauma patients—can improve the outcomes of those with a ruptured subarachnoid aneurysm.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said that six of eight patients who underwent hemicraniectomy for a hemorrhage from a burst aneurysm had good or excellent outcomes. Their findings were presented here at the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, held in October.

"Two thirds of those who present in a coma die within 30 days," said Edward R. Smith, MD, one of the investigators. "With this [measure], we can treat symptoms and improve outcomes." Smith added that about 40 000 hemorrhages from aneurysms occur annually in the United States.

NOT OPEN-AND-SHUT

Conventional treatment calls for opening the skull, removing the aneurysm, and then closing the skull. But following the procedure, some patients have brain swelling or basal spasms, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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