Measurement Techniques of Hounsfield Unit Values for Assessment of Bone Quality Following Decompressive Craniectomy (DC): A Preliminary Report

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how skull density behaves after decompressive craniectomy (DC) through Hounsfield Unit (HU) quantification (Hounsfield in J Comput Assist Tomogr 4(5):665–674 [1]). The margins of the bones of the frontal and occipital regions adjacent to the decompressive craniectomy and the opposite regions without surgery in the early and late stages were analyzed. In the immediate postoperative period, higher bone density values were found at the margin without craniectomy in the frontal bone (12.5–32.28%) and this difference decreased in the late phase (0.53–15.74%) and in the occipital bone. The maximum density values were higher at the margin of the decompressive craniectomy in both the early and late stages. These informations can help the neurosurgeon about changes in the bone quality of the skull following the surgery.