Earlier cranioplasty following posttraumatic craniectomy is associated with better neurological outcomes at one-year follow-up: a two-centre retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: Cranioplasty (CP) after decompressive craniectomy (DC) is routinely performed for reconstructive purposes and improves rehabilitation. However, the optimal timing of CP remains controversial. This study aimed to assess differences in clinical outcomes following different timings of CP in patients with traumatic brain injury.

Materials And Methods: Patients with traumatic brain injury who underwent CP after DC in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 1 January 2010 to 1 May 2017, and in Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from 1 January 2015, to 1 May 2017, were retrospectively reviewed. According to the timing of CP, patients were divided into an 'early group' (3-6 months) and a 'late group' (6-12 months). The clinical characteristics of patients and postoperative complications occurred within 1-year follow-up were analysed. The neurological function was assessed with Barthel Index (BI).

Results: A total of 100 patients (58 cases in early group and 42 cases in late group) were included. The median interval between DC and CP was 135 days and 225 days in the early and late CP groups, respectively. The overall complication rate after CP was 16%, and no significant difference in complication rate was observed between the early and late CP groups (17.2% vs.14.3%,  = 0.69). The neurological function was improved in early CP group (pre-CP 85.77 ± 11.61 vs. post-CP 95.34 ± 9.02,  < 0.001, but not in late CP group (pre-CP 82.74 ± 22.82 vs. post-CP 88.93 ± 22.86, = 0.22). In addition, a significantly higher proportion of patients in the early CP group showed neurological functional improvement in comparison with the late CP group (early vs. late: 74.1% vs. 57.1%, = 0.04). Multivariate analysis further demonstrated that the timing of CP is an independent predictor for neurological outcomes (OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.13-0.82, = 0.02).

Conclusion: Early CP (3-6 months) following posttraumatic DC was associated with better neurological outcomes than late CP (>6 months).