Acta neurochirurgica
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Acta neurochirurgica · Jan 1997
Comparative StudyPeriradicular therapy in lumbar radicular syndromes: methodology and results.
Periradicular therapy (PRT) has become popular in the treatment of lumbar radicular complaints, both primary, due to disc herniations (Group 1), and postoperative, following disc surgery (Group 2). However, hitherto reported data on 'periradicular injections' are more of a technical nature. The present study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic success of CT- versus fluoroscope-guided periradicular injections of local anaesthetics and corticoids, and to investigate the impact of imaging procedures on the results. ⋯ Long-term follow-up shows that there is no positive effect in those patients in whom the first two PRT attempts had failed. Thus, PRT represents a useful long-term therapeutic alternative for lumbar radicular syndromes, particularly when due to primary discogenic compression. CT-guided injection is superior to fluoroscope-assisted treatment for both its visualization and its longer-lasting effect.
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Acta neurochirurgica · Jan 1997
Unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression of lumbar spinal stenosis. Part II: Clinical experiences.
The surgical aim in the treatment of symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis is the relief of the patient's complaints by an adequate neural decompression. Unilateral laminotomy and bilateral spinal canal decompression represents such a safe, effective and minimally invasive surgical method. This technique has been successfully used in the operative treatment of 29 patients with symptomatic mono- or multisegmental lumbar stenosis. ⋯ Postoperatively, 25 of the 27 patients with neurogenic claudication (93%) demonstrated a marked improvement of the walking distance. The follow-up of 25 patients (mean follow-up time was 18 months) demonstrated an excellent result without pain in 7 patients (28%); a good outcome with mild residual pain, but a normal working capacity in 15 patients (60%); and a fair outcome with unchanged postoperative low-back pain but markedly improved working capacity and walking distance in 3 patients (12%). Postoperative morphometric evaluation as well as the clinical improvement of the patient's symptoms clearly demonstrated that bilateral ligamentectomy and recess decompression were adequately and successfully achieved via unilateral approach.
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Acta neurochirurgica · Jan 1997
Comparison of changes in cerebral blood flow and cerebral oxygen saturation measured by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) after acetazolamide.
The present study compares the change of cerebral blood flow and HbO2 measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) after administration of 1000 mg acetazolamide intravenously. CBF studies in 21 patients with ischaemic cerebrovascular disease were performed routinely with the 133Xenon technique. Additionally the local HbO2 was recorded by NIRS. ⋯ Assuming a threshold value of normal CBF reactivity of 30% and 4% HbO2 reactivity we found for NIRS a sensitivity of 0.88 and a specificity of 0.75. The results demonstrate that changes of CBF can be detected with NIRS and the algorithm of the used monitor is able to calculate the intracranial part of the signal. So, NIRS can be used as non-invasive screening method to test the cerebrovascular reserve capacity.
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Acta neurochirurgica · Jan 1997
Case ReportsRuptured vertebrobasilar junction aneurysm associated with basilar artery fenestration.
A case of a ruptured saccular aneurysm arising from the proximal portion of a partially duplicated basilar artery in a 36-year-old woman is reported. CT and lumbar puncture confirmed subarachnoid haemorrhage. ⋯ The patient underwent successful clipping and coating of the aneurysm by a right lateral suboccipital osteoclastic approach. Embryological development, pathogenesis, diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties of this vascular malformation are discussed in this report.
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Acta neurochirurgica · Jan 1997
Benign neural sheath tumours of major nerves: characteristics in 119 surgical cases.
Peripheral benign nerve sheath tumours are infrequent tumours and affect major nerve trunks. Some authors have indicated a high and prohibitive incidence of neurological injury in resection of these lesions. The authors describe their findings in a retrospective study comprising 119 patients with spontaneous benign nerve sheath tumours of the peripheral nervous system. ⋯ All plexiform neurofibromas were removed subtotally and the outcome for patients was 20% improved and 80% unchanged. The best surgical results at average follow-up of 6 years were observed in the patients with schwannoma, the worst in those with plexiform neurofibroma. Our results demonstrated that it is often possible to remove schwannomas as well as neurofibromas with an acceptable risk of injury to the nerve.