| 
                                  Surgical Results of Depressed Skull Fractures
                                   | 
                                
								
								    A.A.  Ghasemi *      | 
								
								
								   | 
								
								
								   | 
								
                                
								  | 
                                  Abstract:       (17335 Views)  | 
								
								
								  | BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Many advances have taken place in the management and treatment of head injured patients in recent years. Despite this, there have been few studies about depressed skull fractures as a subgroup of head injured patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical results of patients with depressed skull fractures.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 74 patients (50 males and 24 females) with the mean age of 20 years (5- 52  years) who were admitted in neurosurgery department of Urmia Imam Khomeini hospital during 4 years (2009-2012) with depressed skull fracture and treated surgically. Preoperatively, CT scan was done in all patients. Prophylactic antibiotics and antiepileptics were administered in all cases. Variables such as: type and cause of fractures, neurologic deficit, seizure, postoperative meningitis, skin defect, wound infection, CSF leak and mortality were evaluated. Patients were followed up during one year after surgery. 
FINDINGS: From 74 cases, 60(81%) were compound and 14(19%) cases were simple fractures. In 8(11%) patients fracture were crossed the midline (over superior sagittal sinus). The cause of depressed fractures were road traffic accident  in 38(51%) cases, fall from height in 23(31%) cases, physical violence in 5(7%) cases, sports related injury in 2(3%) cases and miscellaneous  in 6(8%) cases. Level of consciousness before surgery was ranged from 5 to 15 based on Glasgow Coma Scale. Postoperatively complete recovery occurred in 50(67.5%) cases, hemiparesis in 10(13.5%) cases, seizure in 4(5.4%) cases, dysphasia in 2(3%) cases, meningitis in 2(3%) cases, and skin defect with wound infection in 2(3%) cases. No death and CSF leak was recorded. 
CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment of depressed skull fracture with prophylactic antibiotics and antiepileptics has good results and few complications. | 
								
								
								   | 
								
								
								  | Keywords:  Head trauma, Depressed skull fracture, Surgery, Skull fracture. | 
								
								
								   | 
								
								
								  | 
                                  
                                  Full-Text  [PDF 286 kb] 
                                    
                                     
                                     
                                    
									  
                                       (2420 Downloads) 
                                     
                                    
                                  | 
								
								
								  
                                  Type of Study:  Research |
                                  Subject: 
                                  Biochemical   Received: 2014/06/19 | Accepted: 2014/06/19 | Published: 2014/06/19
                                   | 
								
                                
                                  
                                    | 
                                    
                                         | 
                                  
								
								   | 
								
								
								  | 
                                  
                                  
                                   |