Clinical and Radiologic Outcomes of Single Burr Hole Drainage and Minicraniotomy in the Treatment of Inhomogeneous Chronic Subdural Hematoma: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE: The optimal treatment for inhomogeneous chronic subdural hematoma (CSH) remains unclear. This study thus aimed to compare single burr hole drainage with minicraniotomy in the treatment of inhomogeneous CSH, including complication and recurrence rates. METHODS: The clinical and radiologic data of 240 patients with inhomogeneous CSH who underwent surgery between January 2005 and January 2021 were retrieved. A total of 111 patients were included in this study. Clinical and radiological outcomes were compared between the groups undergoing different surgery types. RESULTS: A total of 102 (91.8%) patients showed clinical improvement after surgery; 81 (93.1%) and 21 (87.5%) patients showed improvements in clinical symptoms in the single burr hole and minicraniotomy groups, respectively. A total of 102 (91.9%) patients showed favorable radiological findings after the surgery, including inhomogeneous CSH disappearance in 64 (73.6%) burr hole and 13 (54.2%) minicraniotomy patients, and inhomogeneous CSH improvement in 17 (19.5%) burr hole and 8 (33.3%) minicraniotomy patients. There were no significant differences in the patient characteristics or surgical outcomes between the groups. CONCLUSION: Single burr hole drainage showed a slightly better improvement in clinical and radiologic findings and lower recurrence and complication rates than minicraniotomy. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups.