Neurosurgery
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Ten cases of craniosynostosis associated with hydrocephalus were found in a retrospective review of 250 cases of children with craniosynostosis. Four children had Pfeiffer's syndrome, 3 had Crouzon's syndrome, 2 had kleeblattschädel with multiple anomalies and therefore could not be classified into a definite syndrome, and 1 had isolated sagittal synostosis. ⋯ In all patients, hydrocephalus was controlled by a shunting procedure. Possible causes of hydrocephalus in association with craniosynostosis are discussed.
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Forty-two patients with supratentorial gliomas not involving the basal ganglia (extraganglionic) were studied pre- and postoperatively with computed tomographic (CT) scans to evaluate the effect of the extent of surgical resection on the immediate postoperative results. Thirty-three patients (79%) had malignant astrocytic gliomas (glioblastoma or anaplastic astrocytoma), 4 patients (10%) had well-differentiated astrocytomas, and 5 (12%) had oligodendrogliomas. The median age was 58 years, and the median Karnofsky rating was 70. ⋯ A gross total or nearly gross total resection was accomplished in 36 patients (86%), and an improved or stable postoperative neurological status was present in 35 of these patients (97%). In contrast, the rate of neurological morbidity after a partial resection was 40%. Supratentorial extraganglionic gliomas, regardless of their histological type, generally were well-circumscribed lesions except at the level of the ventricular wall, where glioblastomas and anaplastic astrocytomas blended with the subependymal white matter from which they seemed to arise.