Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
-
Comparative Study
Comparison of outcomes following complex posterior fossa surgery performed in the sitting versus lateral position.
The sitting position during surgery is thought to provide important advantages, yet it remains controversial. We compared surgical and neurological outcomes for patients operated on in the sitting versus lateral position. Technically difficult procedures performed from the years 2001-2008 for complex lesions in the posterior fossa (vestibular schwannomas, other cerebellopontine angle tumors, foramen magnum meningiomas, brainstem cavernomas, pineal region tumors) were included. ⋯ We found no advantage in surgical or neurological outcomes for use of the sitting or lateral surgical positions in technically difficult posterior fossa procedures. In vestibular schwannoma surgeries facial nerve preservation (House-Brackmann score 1-2) was related to extent of resection but not to surgical position. The choice of operative position should be based on lesion characteristics and the patient's preoperative medical status as well as the experience and preferences of the surgeons performing the procedure.
-
Intracranial hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a rare malignant meningothelial tumor. The authors retrospectively reviewed the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with HPC with regard to treatment modalities and histopathological grades. Eighteen women and 20 men (mean age 38.5 years, range, 18-62 years) were observed over an average follow-up period of 61 months (range, 15-133 months) between 2003 and 2013. ⋯ Radical resection with RT was associated with longer overall survival and recurrence-free interval (log-rank, p<0.05), but had no effect on the metastasis-free interval (log-rank, p=0.245). Thus, radical surgery followed by adjuvant RT is the primary treatment of HPC, but recurrence and metastasis remain a common treatment outcome regardless of initial strategy. It is necessary to maintain long-term follow-up and serial imaging for all patients with intracranial HPC after treatment, regardless of extent of resection.
-
Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a surgical option in managing uncontrolled raised intracranial pressure refractory to medical therapy. The authors evaluate the addition of zygomatic arch (ZA) resection with standard DC and analyze the resulting increase in brain volume using three-dimensional volumetric CT scans. Measurements of brain expansion dimension morphometrics from CT images were also analyzed. ⋯ Analysis of the ratio of maximum hemicraniectomy diameter to maximum anteroposterior diameter gave a mean difference of 0.04 (95% CI: 0.05-0.07; p=0.026). The addition of ZA resection to standard DC may prove valuable in terms of absolute brain volume gain. This technique is comparable to other maneuvers used to provide maximum brain expansion in the immediate post-operative period.
-
We report a young woman who survived multiple cerebral infarctions related to an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) during labor. To our knowledge, an embolic stroke due to the coexistence of an AFE and patent foramen ovale (PFO) has not been reported. We describe the patient's clinical and radiological features and discuss the stroke mechanism in relation to our AFE hypothesis. ⋯ A transesophageal echocardiogram revealed a PFO with a right-to-left shunt. The elevated intrathoracic pressure during labor may have caused blood to flow backward through the heart, shunting blood from the right side to the left through the PFO. In cases such as this, an amniotic fluid embolus may travel directly from the venous to the arterial circulation via the PFO, leading to multiple cerebral infarctions.
-
Three column osteotomies (3CO) of the lumbar spine are powerful corrective procedures used in the treatment of kyphoscoliosis. Their efficacy comes at the cost of high reported complication rates, notably significant estimated blood loss (EBL). Previously reported techniques to reduce EBL have had modest efficacy. ⋯ The EBL during the PSO procedure was 1L, which compared favorably to that during previous PSO at this institution as well as to quantities reported in previous literature. There have been no short term (5 month follow-up) complications attributable to the vertebral body embolization or surgical procedure. Although further investigation into this technique is required to better characterize its safety and efficacy in reducing EBL during 3CO, we believe this patient illustrates the potential utility of pre-operative vertebral embolization in the setting of non-oncologic deformity correction surgery.