Expansion-floating Craniotomy for the Treatment of Malignant Cerebral Edema Caused by Acute Ischemic Stroke

Brief summary (registry, in English)

This clinical study investigates Expansion-floating Craniotomy (EC), a novel surgical technique for treating life-threatening malignant cerebral edema following large hemispheric infarction (commonly known as massive stroke). Malignant edema causes rapid increases in intracranial pressure, compressing vital brain structures and risking fatal brain herniation, requiring urgent intervention. The current international standard treatment is traditional decompressive craniectomy (DC). DC involves removing a section of the skull to allow brain swelling, effectively reducing pressure and mortality risk. It is strongly recommended (Class I, Level A evidence) in major guidelines. However, DC typically requires a second major surgery (cranioplasty) approximately 3 months later to replace the removed bone flap, involving additional costs and risks like progressive intracranial hemorrhage or subdural hygroma. EC is a newer approach designed to potentially eliminate the need for a second surgery. During EC, surgeons use medical titanium plates to temporarily elevate the bone flap, creating immediate space for brain swelling while keeping the bone flap attached. Once brain swelling subsides (usually within weeks), a minor procedure flattens the titanium plates, allowing the patient's own bone to naturally reposition without requiring cranioplasty. EC may be performed based on surgeon assessment of brain swelling, guideline considerations, or experience. If EC is deemed unsuitable during surgery, DC will be performed instead. While early research suggests EC achieves decompression similar to DC while preserving the bone flap, its safety and effectiveness compared to the established DC procedure are not yet fully proven. DC is a well-understood, mature technique with known risks and benefits, including the certainty of needing cranioplasty. Conservative management is reserved for patients unfit for surgery but may not prevent neurological deterioration.This study aims to conduct a preliminary assessment of the outcomes of EC versus DC.

What you commit to

• Study type: Observational
• Planned participants: 356
• From 1 Oct 2025 to the primary completion date, 30 Mar 2027
• No sites listed in no country
• Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

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Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Who the study is looking for

Age in the registry: 18 years to 80 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov