Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Rasmussen's encephalitis is characterized by seizures, progressive neurological deterioration and chronic inflammation of the brain. It typically presents in childhood and requires anatomic or functional hemispherectomy for seizure control. Here, we report an adult woman who presented with new onset, medically refractory seizures that were not progressive. ⋯ The pathologic samples were consistent with Rasmussen's encephalitis. The patient remained seizure free until her last follow-up at 2 years. This is an example of unique adult onset Rasmussen's encephalitis, suggesting that this encephalitis represents a wide spectrum of presentations rather than a specific disease.
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The trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR) is a common event during skull base surgery that can lead to intraoperative arterial hypotension and bradycardia. Arterial hypotension associated with TCR can be a negative prognostic factor for postoperative auditory function and ipsilateral tinnitus in patients undergoing surgery for vestibular schwannoma (VS). In this study, the contribution of TCR to postoperative auditory function in non-VS cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumor surgery was investigated. ⋯ Of the 30 patients with preoperative functional hearing, 1/3 (33.3%) patients in the TCR group and 23/27 (85.2%) patients in the non-TCR group had functional hearing postoperatively. When patients with large tumors and functional, hearing were considered, only 33.3% of patients in the TCR group and 77.8% of patients in the non-TCR group remained within the same hearing classes following surgical treatment (p=0.1573). TCR may be a negative prognostic factor for postoperative auditory function in patients with large, non-VS CPA tumors.
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We investigated the effects of cervical disc herniation on kinematics of adjacent segmental motion by evaluating 407 patients using kinetic MRI. For each patient, measurements for translational motion (mm), angular variation (degrees) and disc height (mm) were obtained at each segment from C2/C3 through C7/T1. The results show that the spinal levels above the disc herniation experienced, on average, a 7.2% decrease in translational motion per millimeter of disc herniation (p=0.0113), but no significant change in angular motion. ⋯ This study indicates that although disc height, translational motion and angular variation are significantly affected at the level of a disc herniation, no significant changes are apparent within the adjacent segments. Herniated discs have no effect on the range of motion at adjacent levels regardless of the degree of disc degeneration or the size of disc herniation. The natural progression of disc herniation and adjacent segment disease within the cervical spine appear to be separate, unrelated processes.
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The occipital interhemispheric transtentorial approach is commonly used for pineal region tumors. However, there are few reports of this approach for lesions in the superior cerebellum. We present a 47-year-old male patient with an incidental cystic lesion in the superior cerebellum, detected on MRI consistent with cerebellar hemangioblastoma. ⋯ We performed surgery using the occipital interhemispheric transtentorial approach to remove the lesion. There were no intraoperative complications and the patient tolerated the procedure well. We describe our approach, supplemented by a short video, and review operative approaches to the superior cerebellum.
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We report our single-center experience using detachable balloons (DB), coils and Willis covered stents (MicroPort, Shanghai, China) to treat post-traumatic direct carotid-cavernous fistulas (DCCFs), focusing on preservation of the internal carotid artery (ICA). We retrospectively reviewed the records of 51 patients who received endovascular treatment (EVT). EVT with DBs was chosen as the first-line therapeutic strategy, and Willis covered stent placement and coiling was the alternative. ⋯ DCCF-related symptoms improved gradually between 1 day and 6 months after treatment. EVT using DB to occlude fistulas and preserve the ICA is the preferential treatment for DCCFs. When standard treatment has failed, coils and/or Willis covered stents can be used as a safe alternative or remedial tool with ICA preservation and reconstruction.