A randomized trial of 112 patients 61 years of age or older (median, 70 years; range, 61 to 82) with life-threatening middle-cerebral-artery infarction showed that hemicraniectomy cut the mortality rate by more than half without severe disability compared with conservative treatment in Germany. Hemicraniectomy involved removal of skull bone at least 12 cm in diameter to relieve pressure on the brain following a stroke. Earlier research had found that it reduced mortality without increasing the risk of very severe disability in younger patients.德国一项包括112例61岁以上（61至82岁，中位数70岁）患危及生命的大脑中动脉梗塞的老年人的随机研究显示，与保守治疗相比，大骨瓣减压使死亡率降低一半以上而无严重残疾。大骨瓣减压涉及去除至少12厘米直径的颅骨，以降低中风后的颅内压。此前已有研究发现，该手术可降低年轻中风患者的死亡率而不增加严重残疾的风险。
