A cephalohematoma is an accumulation of subperiosteal blood, typically localized in the parietal or occipital region of the calvaria1. Cephalohematomas occur in approximately 0.4 to 2.49 % of all newborns2 and are caused by shear forces during birth. This results in separation of the calvaria from the periosteum, with subsequent hemorrhage due to rupture of small blood vessels. In newborns, such a cephalohematoma usually develops within the first three days after birth and completely resolves within the first month of life in more than 80% of cases3, without the children sustaining neurological deficits as a result4. In very rare cases, cephalohematomas can also occur in adults, for example after trauma or surgery5.
Indication for surgical decompression
Cephalohematomas are generally treated conservatively, and surgical intervention is required only in very rare cases. In patients in whom the cephalohematoma persists after 6 weeks and does not resolve, an ossified cephalohematoma may develop, for which surgical removal may be considered6.
References
Book: Neurosurgical Knowledge Update - A comprehensive review. Robert E. Harbaugh et al. Thieme Verlag ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
Chung, Ho Yun, et al. "Surgical treatment of ossified cephalhematoma." Journal of Craniofacial Surgery 15.5 (2004): 774-779. ↩ ↩
Gupta, P. K., et al. "Ossified cephalhematoma." Pediatric neurosurgery 43.6 (2007): 492-497. ↩ ↩