Neurosurgical review
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Neurosurgical review · Jul 2013
Surgical treatment of thoracic disc disease via minimally invasive lateral transthoracic trans/retropleural approach: analysis of 33 patients.
Thoracic disc herniations are associated with serious neurological consequences if not treated appropriately. Although a number of techniques have been described, there is no consensus about the best surgical approach. In this study, the authors report their experience in the operative management of patients with thoracic disc herniations using minimally invasive lateral transthoracic trans/retropleural approach. ⋯ The mean preoperative visual analog scale pain score, Oswestry Disability Index score, SF-36 PCS, and mental component summary scores were 7.5, 42.4, 29.6, and 37.5 which improved to 3.5, 33.2, 35.5, and 52.6, respectively. Perioperative complications occurred in six patients (18.1 %), all of which resolved uneventfully. Minimally invasive lateral transthoracic trans/retropleural approach is a safe and efficacious technique for achieving adequate decompression in thoracic disc herniations in a less invasive manner than conventional approaches.
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Neurosurgical review · Jul 2013
ReviewDecompressive craniectomy and head injury: brain morphometry, ICP, cerebral hemodynamics, cerebral microvascular reactivity, and neurochemistry.
There has been renewed interest in decompressive craniectomy as a surgical treatment for elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), although evidence-based clinical data are still lacking and some experimental results are conflicting. Ongoing clinical trials on the use of this operation after traumatic brain injury (TBI) may clarify the clinical application of this technique, however, some pathophysiological issues, such as the timing of this operation, its effect on brain edema formation, and its role for secondary brain damage, are still controversial. This review addresses recent clinical data on the influence of decompressive craniectomy on the brain pathophysiology in TBI. ⋯ The gain in intracranial volume results in both the improvement of cerebral compliance and a decrease in ICP; the latter favors a rise in both cerebral blood flow and cerebral microvascular perfusion, which can be accompanied by elevation in brain tissue oxygen tension (PbtO2) as well as the return of abnormal metabolic parameters to normal values in cases of cerebral ischemia. Enhancement of edema formation, impairment of cerebrovascular pressure reactivity, and non-restoration of brain aerobic metabolism due to metabolic crisis may occur after craniectomy and require further investigations. This review suggests that decompressive craniectomy as the sole treatment is likely to be insufficient; efforts must be made to maintain adequate brain hemodynamics, preferably coupled with brain metabolism, in addition to treating brain metabolic abnormalities, during postoperative stages.
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Neurosurgical review · Jul 2013
Early seizures after clipping of unruptured aneurysms of the anterior circulation: analysis on consecutive 1,000 cases.
Seizures occurring after clipping of unruptured cerebral aneurysms have rarely been documented in the literature. The objective of this retrospective study is to clarify whether the frequency of early seizures, i.e., seizures occurring within 14 days of surgery, is influenced by patient- or aneurysm-specific characteristics. Data on 1,000 consecutive patients who underwent clipping of unruptured anterior circulation aneurysms were reviewed. ⋯ Patients with generalized seizures were significantly more likely to harbor an iatrogenic brain lesion than those with partial seizures (47 vs. 18 %; OR 4.148; 95 % CI 1.005-17.113). Among 40 patients with follow-up period >12 months, seizures were temporary without recurrence in 38 (95 %). Although early seizures are mostly benign, a small possibility of them becoming a permanent morbidity needs to be explained to patients undergoing elective clipping.
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Neurosurgical review · Jul 2013
Differences between middle cerebral artery bifurcations with normal anatomy and those with aneurysms.
The objectives of this study were to elucidate the normal anatomy of middle cerebral artery (MCA) bifurcations and to analyze the differences in patients with MCA aneurysms. In the present study, 62 patients underwent three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography, and no intracranial lesions were noted. The widths of M1 and the superior and inferior M2 branches, as well as their respective lateral angles, were measured. ⋯ The DA ratio was 1.5 ± 0.4 in normal MCAs and 1.7 ± 0.7 in MCAs with aneurysms; this difference was significant (p < 0.05). The LA ratio was 1.3 ± 0.4 in normal MCAs and 2.1 ± 1.4 in MCAs with aneurysms; these values were also significantly different (p < 0.01). Normal cerebral artery bifurcations show close to symmetric structure in the M2 branches and the lateral angles, whereas aneurysmal MCAs do not show this symmetry.