Endoscopic hematoma removal of supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage under local anesthesia reduces operative time compared to craniotomy

The surgical efficacy for supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains unknown. We compared the advantages of the widely practiced endoscopic hematoma removal under local anesthesia with that of craniotomy under general anesthesia for ICH. We also focused on our novel operative concept of intentional hematoma leaving technique to avoid further damage to the brain. We retrospectively analyzed 134 consecutive patients (66 endoscopies and 68 craniotomies) who were surgically treated for supratentorial ICH. The characteristics of the 134 patients were as follows: The median (interquartile range) age was 73 (61–82) years. The median Glasgow Coma Scale scores at admission, on day 7, and the median modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 6 months were 10 (7–13), 13 (10–14), and 4 (3–5) respectively. The statistical comparison revealed there were no differences in GCS score on day seven between the endoscopy 13 (12–14) and craniotomy group 12 (9–14). No differences were observed in mRS scores at 6 months between the endoscopy 4 (2–5) and craniotomy group 4 (3–5). However, the patients treated with our technique tended to have favorable outcomes. Multivariate analysis revealed the operative time was significantly decreased in the endoscopy group compared to the craniotomy group (p < 0.001).