Cerebral hemorrhagic infarction following cranioplasty in a shunted patient with tension pneumocephalus resulting from depressed skull and craniodural defect

Symptomatic tension pneumocephalus following Palacos® cranioplasty in a shunted patient

Tension pneumocephalus is an exceedingly rare complication of cerebrospinal fluid diversion occurring after surgery, trauma or spontaneous fistula formation. We report a case in a patient with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt who developed symptomatic tension pneumocephalus via a skin defect within 24 hours of undergoing bone cement cranioplasty.