"Eppur si muove" - Clinical case: evolutionary "saga" during the last 6 years: posttraumatic subdural hematoma, decompressive craniectomy, right hemiplegia and aphasia, cranioplasty, hydrocephalus and porencephaly, post-traumatic encephalopathy - in remission

The case reports a 59-year-old male patient who suffered a severe head injury (affirmative by accidental fall from 3 m) with multiple hemorrhagic lesions (bifrontal, bioccipital, biparieto-temporal) and left cerebral subdural hematoma, requiring a large fronto- temporo-parietal decompressive craniotomy for the mass lesion evacuation. Cranioplasty was performed after 6 months. The paper synthesizes the evolution over six years of follow-up (12 in-patient admissions and 4 out-patient evaluations), like in a neurorehabilitation cinematographic "saga". The posttraumatic encephalopathy had a peculiar evolution, sugestively compared with the humps of a camel: the brain injury (determined coma, right hemiplegia and mixed aphasia, intense psycho-motor agitation, severe dysphagia for solids and liquids, neurogenic bladder, anemia), was followed by a slowly progressive favorable neuro-psychological evolution (after the decompressive craniectomy). A brutal neurological fall-down was noticed after the cranioplasty, and finally a gradually favorable ascending trend, towards a global neuro-psichological stabilization (with an almost imperceptible sequelary ataxic hemiparesis). The paper discusses the pathophisiological aspects focused on the decompressive craniectomy and cranioplasty, correlated to the patient's evolution. Complications of each neurosurgical procedures are succinctly depicted. The traumatic encephalopathy was complicated with post-traumatic seizures (therapeutically controlled) and active internal hydrocephalus with interstitial edema and an ischemic lesion. Finally it was a "happyend", with favorable clinical evolution, towards a stable and stationary normotensive asymmetric hydrocephalus, with a gigantic and deforming porencephaly. The paper advocates for a carefully follow-up and prompt intervention in order to prevent recurrences and/ or complications (secondary and tertiary prophylaxis).