Decompressive craniotomy in medically uncontrollable malignant infarction.

Patients with progressive neurological deficit following large cerebral infarctions are viewed to have a uniformly poor prognosis. We present two patients with large middle cerebral artery infarctions in which a decompressive craniotomy was life saving and resulted in functional outcome. The clinical course of patients with malignant infarction and the treatment issues involved including patient selection and the timing and extent of cranial decompression are discussed.