Craniotomy

As a craniotomy is referred to the neurosurgical opening of the skull (Latin cranium). It is performed in the context of neurosurgical interventions.

Already many centuries ago did people before skull openings. This happened, for example, after skull base fractures or for the treatment of growing skull -brain trauma. In desperate cases where the child's skull at birth could not pass through the bony pelvis of the woman, this method already described by Hippocrates was used until the 18th century. The aim of the intervention was about to shrink the skull of the child. This was before the introduction of Caesarean section in the described cases, the only possibility (though not the child) to save the mother's life.