Recovery of stroke hemiplegia through neurosurgical intervention in the chronic stage.

Objective: We evaluated quantitatively the further recovery from impairment and disability in the hemiplegic stroke survivors who required neurosurgical intervention, i.e. cranioplasty or ventriculoperitoneal (V-P) shunt, in chronic stage. Setting: Rehabilitation (RH) ward affiliated with university hospitals. Patients: Eleven first-ever stroke patients with hemiplegia (mean age, 56.3+/-2.5 years) out of 498 survivors required delayed (between 4 and 10 months after the onset) neurosurgical intervention during continuous RH therapy. Six patients received cranioplasty for preexisting hemicraniectomy, and five required V-P shunt for normal pressure hydrocephalus with later complications. Main outcome measures: Recovery grade (1--12) of hemiplegia and Barthel index were assessed monthly before (the 1st RH) and after the intervention (the 2nd RH). Results: The recovery grade of upper and lower extremity movements significantly increased both in the 1st and 2nd RH. Changes in the upper and lower extremity grades were significantly larger in the 2nd RH (0.5+/-0.3 in the 1st vs. 2.5+/-0.6 in the 2nd RH for upper extremity, p<0.005; 0.9+/-0.3 in the 1st vs. 3.4+/-0.5 in the 2nd RH for lower extremity, p<0.001). Barthel index increased significantly only in the 2nd RH (from 48+/-7 to 90+/-3, p<0.001); all patients regained the ability to walk independently. Conclusions: Significant recovery of functional grade and recovery from disability occurred after the neurosurgical intervention in the chronic stage (geq 4 months) of stroke.