# Hemicraniectomy - prognosis? (Roy Horn-related)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hemicraniectomy-prognosis-roy-horn-related/207610>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 15, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hemicraniectomy-prognosis-roy-horn-related/207610 "2003-10-15T18:13:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hemicraniectomy-prognosis-roy-horn-related/207610/1 "2003-10-15T18:13:27Z")

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I’ve been following the stories about Roy Horn’s injury since it happened, and one of my news searches turned up [this article](http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/127168p-113739c.html). Now, I’m considering the source, especially since I haven’t seen it crop up anywhere else, but it’s still got me concerned.

I Googled “hemicraniectomy” and came up with [this](http://www.med.wayne.edu/Wayne%20Medicine/wm99/time_and_space.htm), which was one of the few hits that wasn’t so full of medical-ese that I couldn’t follow it. The article, while it seems to indicate that survival rate is good, is not so optimistic about long-term prognosis.

So…medical Dopers, can you tell me what you know about this procedure and its outcome? Is Roy likely to survive but spend the rest of his life in a care facility?