No association between seniority of surgeon and postoperative recurrence of chronic subdural haematoma.

Introduction Neurosurgical trainees should achieve competency in chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) drainage at an early stage in training. The effect of surgeon seniority on recurrence following surgical drainage of CSDH was examined. Methods All CSDH cases performed at St George’s Hospital in London between March 2009 and March 2012 were analysed. Recurrence was defined as clinical deterioration with computed tomography evidence of CSDH requiring reoperation within six months. The following risk factors were considered: seniority of primary and supervising surgeons, timing of surgery (working hours, outside working hours), patient related factors (age, antiplatelets, warfarin) and operative factors (general vs local anaesthesia, burr holes vs craniotomy, drain use). For recurrent cases, we examined the distance of the cranial opening from the thickest part of the CSDH. Results A total of 239 patients (median age: 79 years, range: 33–98 years) had 275 CSDH drainage operations. The overall recurrence rate ...