Chronic subdural hematoma associated with arachnoid cyst. Report of 12 cases

Introduction. We designed this study to investigate the clinical, neurological, and radiological outcome of patients with chronic subdural hematoma related to an intracranial arachnoid cysts. Patients and methods. Medical records of 12 cases of patients with arachnoids cyst complicated with chronic subdural hematoma were retrospectively reviewed. Results. Between January 1984 and April 2008, 12 patients (0.9%) of 1.253 cases of chronic subdural hematoma surgically treated in our hospital had associated arachnoid cyst. Arachnoid cysts were located in the middle fossa (10 cases) and convexity (2 cases). The most frequent symptom was headache (6 cases), followed by seizures (3 cases). Eleven patients underwent burr hole and drainage; the oldest patient was treated conservatively. Conclusions. Patients with AC, especially when these are located in temporal fossa, appear to harbour a life-long risk of contracting subdural hematoma. Hematoma evacuation is adequate at first operation and if arachnoid cyst is symptomatic or preoperative symptoms persist, additional arachnoid cyst surgery should be considered.