Background: Cerebellar hemorrhage following supratentorial craniotomy is a very seldom described but serious complication. The present study evaluates the significance of presurgical and surgical factors that may predispose patients to these bleeding episodes.
Methods: The data of 52 cases of cerebellar hemorrhage following supratentorial craniotomy, 9 from our records and 43 from the literature, were analyzed with regard to various variables.
Results: The findings suggest that this clinical picture is unrelated to age, previous arterial hypertension, inherent or induced coagulopathies, type of primary underlying lesion, intraoperative positioning of the patient, type of anesthesia, or intracranial hypotension and its sequels. It entails significant morbidity, with one third of the patients left with cerebellar dysfunction or in a dependent state, and carries a mortality of about 25%.
Conclusion: Not one single presurgical or surgical factor can reliably predict the occurrence of cerebellar hemorrhage after supratentorial craniotomy, and the etiology of this entity still remains unclear. The most important keys to minimize the hazardous sequelae are to be aware of this potential complication and to diagnose it early.