[Neurosurgical management of spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage].

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10 to 20% of strokes, but carries the highest rate of morbidity and mortality. Until now, there is no proven benefit in the literature for surgical treatment of ICH, and management of ICH varies greatly in neurosurgical centers. Surgery can be performed through standard craniotomy, or with a stereotactic procedure for deep-seated ICH. Conscious patients with minimal neurological deficit and small ICH are nonsurgical candidates. Patients with a Glasgow Coma Score lower than 4, with large deep-seated ICH are also non surgical candidates. In other situations, the following arguments could lead to the decision of surgery: superficial (so-called lobar) ICH, size above 3 cm in diameter, midline shift, secondary neurological worsening, young patient, underlying vascular malformation. Acute hydrocephalus from ventricular hemorrhage may be treated with external ventricular drainage if the associated deep-seated ICH is small in size. Indications of surgery are more frequent for cerebellar ICH, as the risks for brainstem compression and hydrocephalus from ventricular obstruction are important.