Turkish Neurosurgery
Surgical Management of Calcified Cephalohematoma in Infants Below One Year of Age
ALİ ŞAHİN1, NİMETULLAH ALPER DURMUŞ1, ŞÜKRÜ ORAL1, HALİL ULUTABANCA1, AHMET KÜÇÜK1
1Erciyes University, Faculty of Medicine, Neurosurgery, KAYSERİ,
DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.47460-24.3

Aim:This study aimed to investigate patients diagnosed with calcified cephalic hematoma who received surgical treatment in our clinic and review important surgical management points.Material and Methods:Patients below one year of age who were diagnosed with calcified cephalic hematoma and underwent surgery between January 2021 and December 2023 were retrospectively reviewed.Results:Fifteen patients with calcified cephalic hematoma who received surgical treatment from the neurosurgery team were included in the study. Four (26.7%) patients were female, and 11 (73.3%) were male. The mean age at operation was 3.5±1.9 months (min-max: 2–10). The mean follow-up period was 23.3±9.5 months. Patients operated ≤3 months of age and ˃3 months were categorized into two separate groups, where 10 patients (66.7%) were operated on ≤3 months of age, and five patients (33.3%) were operated at >3 months post-delivery. The calcified cephalic hematoma was located in the parietal region in 14 patients and in the occipital region in one patient. All patients presented with complaints of scalp swelling. Furthermore, 13 (86.7%) patients underwent complicated deliveries, and two (13.3%) had post-partum trauma. Postoperative complications occurred in three patients, including wound infection, subgaleal hematoma and epileptic seizure in one patient each, and blood transfusion was required in five patients (33.3%). All the patients with postoperative blood requirements were operated on at ≤3 months. Conclusion:Albeit rare, calcified cephalic hematoma is a vital pathology associated with significant deformity and asymmetry of the infant skull. The surgical technique used for the study was adequate to restore normal cranial contours and had a low complication rate. It was concluded that patients with calcified cephalic hematoma could be safely operated on within the first three months. Nevertheless, care should be taken regarding postoperative hemorrhage and the need for erythrocyte suspension replacement.

Corresponding author : ALİ ŞAHİN