Pneumocephalus after Deep Brain Stimulation
Symptomatic intraparenchymal pneumocephalus is a rare complication of DBS surgery which can be treated with surgical evacuation 1).
Better understanding of how pneumocephalus displaces subcortical structures can significantly enhance our intraoperative decision making and overall targeting strategy 2).
Postoperative pneumocephalus air must be considered as a possible complication of deep brain stimulation and should be on the list of differentials if a patient presents with post operative neurological deficit 3).
Data suggest that strict supine positioning during STN DBS surgery results in minimal intracranial air and is not associated with VAE or symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage when the operative method described is used 4).
The electrode positions in the immediate postoperative CT might have significant discrepancies with those in the CT taken at a stable period after STN DBS especially when there is a large amount of pneumocephalus 5).
Santos et al. published pneumocephalus with clinical repercussions in 3 cases 6).