Objective To explore the value of minimally invasive puncturation via the hard tunnel in decompression before craniotomy for acute subdural hematoma combined with cerebral hernia.Methods A retrospective method was adopted to analyze the clinical data of 303 patients with traumatic acute subdural hematoma combined with cerebral hernia treated from January 2004 to October 2016.There were 206 males and 97 females,with age range of 12-77 years [(43.6 ± 20.1) years].The Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was 3-5 points in 187 patients and 6-8 points in 116.The patients were divided into study group (n =199) and control group (n =104) according to the different surgical procedures.For study group,the patients were treated with disposable ventricular needle to suck out and drain the intracranial hematoma,and the skull was opened through the large craniotomy to remove the subdural hematoma.For control group,the skull was opened through the large craniotomy which was used to directly remove the subdural hematoma according to the traditional instruction.The differences between two groups were compared with regard to time from confirming the cerebral hernia to the first decompression,time of regaining consciousness after surgery,hospitalization duration and cranial cavity infection after surgery.Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) was used to evaluate the prognosis.Results The time to first decompression was 10-15 minutes [(12.5 ± 1.7)minutes] in study group and 50-75 minutes [(133.0 ± 7.9) minutes] in control group (P ＜ 0.05).Regaining consciousness within 3 days after surgery was found in 62 patients of study group and 18 of control group.Regaining consciousness at days 4-7 after surgery was found in 76 patients of study group and 22 of control group.Regaining consciousness at days 8-15 days after surgery was found in 26 patients of study group and 29 of control group.Regaining consciousness over 15 days after surgery was found in 10 patients of study group and 12 of control group.Postoperative unconsciousness including death was found in 25 patients of study group and 23 of control group (P ＜ 0.05).The hospitalization duration was (19.5 ± 1.1) days in study group and (22.8 ± 2.8) days in control group (P ＜ 0.05).No cranial cavity infection was found in study group,while cranial cavity infection occurred in one patient in control group.According to the GOS,the outcome in study group was good in 133 patients,moderate to severe disability in 41,vegetative state in 7 and death in 18,while the outcome in control group was good in 34 patients,moderate to severe disability in 47,vegetative state in 9 and death in 14 (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The minimally invasive puncturation via the hard tunnel to remove the hematoma is capable of reducing the intracranial pressure before craniotomy for acute subdural hematoma combined with cerebral hernia,can decrease the disability rate and hence is prioritized to clinical application.