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Introduction Delay in doing cranioplasty (CP) after decompressive craniectomy (DC) may cause motor, cognitive, and language deficits. Studies show doing CP before developing such symptoms helps in improving the outcome. CP improves cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics and cerebral blood flow, which may lead to better cognitive and functional outcome. Objective The aim of the study was to assess cognitive and functional outcomes of early versus delayed cranioplasty (DCP) after DC. Methodology This was a prospective observational study on 42 patients aged over 16 years and up to 70 years, who had undergone CP after DC for severe traumatic brain injury in in-patient and outpatient department of neurosurgery at a tertiary care hospital in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India from the period of March 01, 2016 to December 31, 2017. Cognitive and functional outcomes were compared in early and DCP groups in preoperative and follow-up period at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Early cranioplasty (ECP) was within 2 months, and DCP was beyond 2 months. Results Total sample size under this study was 42; 21 in ECP and 21 in DCP group. Mean age was 41.40 ± 15.95 years. The age distribution was quite young with 38.1% in 30 to 49 age group and had very high proportion of males (85.7%).This analysis revealed that both the ECP and DCP groups have resulted in significant improvement in mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE) score after CP. But in the ECP group, there has been steady and significant improvement in MMSE and GOSE score at different follow-ups starting from postoperative 1 month in MMSE score and from 3 months up to 6 months in GOSE score. Conclusion Neurosurgeon should evaluate and carefully monitor each individual case and take up CP as early as possible with suitable indication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study was done with the aim to compare the clinical outcome and patient's quality of life between early (within 24 hours post-injury) versus delayed (after 24 hours to 7 days) surgically treated patients of acute cervical spinal cord injury. The current study was based on the hypothesis that early surgical decompression and fixations in acute cervical spinal cord trauma are safe and are associated with improved outcome as compared with delayed surgical decompression. Methods A total of 54 patients were recruited and divided into early decompression surgery group A (operated within 24 hours of trauma; n = 25) and late/delayed decompression surgery group B (operated between 24 hours and 7 days of trauma; n = 29). The patients in both groups were followed up, and comparative differences noted in the neurological outcome, quality of life, and bony fusion. Results The early surgery group had lesser postoperative complications. In group A, 54.17% patients had 1 American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade improvement, while 29.17% experienced > 2 AIS grade improvement (p = 0.015). In group B, the neurological improvement was 50 and 21.43%, respectively (p = 0.003). There was a significant improvement in the postoperative quality of life scores in early surgery group. Conclusion Early surgery in patients with acute cervical spinal cord injury should be considered strongly in view of the lesser complications, better neurological recovery, and reduced mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]