Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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We present the case of a 36-year-old man with neck pain and parasthesia of both upper limbs. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a cervical disc protrusion with spinal cord compression, a Chiari I malformation and cervical syringomyelia. On clinical grounds it was suspected that the cervical stenosis was the symptomatic pathology and an anterior cervical decompression was performed, followed by arthroplasty. ⋯ Cervical spondylosis is infrequently associated with syringomyelia. Chiari I malformations are increasingly incidentally detected and asymptomatic. This first report of arthroplasty for cervical spondylosis associated with syringomyelia adds to the growing body of experience with this new technology.
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Torticollis due to atlantoaxial rotatory fixation (AARF) is rare. Most cases are idiopathic or occur after infection or minor trauma. ⋯ Computed tomography helps in confirming AARF, and early diagnosis can improve outcomes, although treatment is debatable. We present three children and one adult with AARF and review the literature.
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Controlled Clinical Trial
Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery for invasive pituitary adenoma.
Invasive pituitary adenomas (IPA) involving the skull base extend from the sella region, and invade surrounding structures. In the present study, we reviewed the therapeutic efficacy in a group of patients with IPA treated with endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery. Data from 78 IPA patients at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. ⋯ Visual symptoms improved in 96.4% of the patients who had presented with visual impairment. These surgical results show that endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery for resection of IPA has advantages. We suggest that the endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery method is a safe, minimally invasive and efficient surgical technique for removal of IPA, providing good visualization of the operative field, generally complete tumor removal, short procedure duration, and minimal postoperative complications.
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We report a case of acute contralateral subdural hygroma (SDG) following decompressive craniectomy and discuss the potential aetiologies of the SDG. A 63-year-old man experienced drowsiness (Glasgow coma scale score 13) after a fall that resulted in head trauma. Brain CT revealed a subdural haematoma at the right fronto-temporo-parietal region with a midline shift to the left. ⋯ Although the patient's neurological status improved postoperatively, gradual deterioration was observed during the follow-up period. Contralateral SDG with a midline shift to the right was noted in a follow-up brain CT scan. The patient's condition improved after drainage of the SDG and he was discharged 1 week later.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Barbiturate therapy for patients with refractory intracranial hypertension following severe traumatic brain injury: its effects on tissue oxygenation, brain temperature and autoregulation.
The aim of this study was to explore the effects of barbiturate coma on cerebral tissue oxygen tension and cerebrovascular pressure reactivity (PRx), as an index of cerebral autoregulation in severe head injury patients. This was a prospective observational clinical study of 12 patients with severe traumatic brain injury, carried out at a tertiary-level neurosurgical intensive care unit between April 2002 and May 2005. All patients received standard neurosurgical intensive care and monitoring. ⋯ Of eight patients with prebarbiturate PTiO2 levels above 10 mmHg, six had a further improvement in oxygenation. Thus, concordant favourable changes in ICP, PRx and PTiO2 with barbiturate coma were seen in those who survived. Effective response to barbiturates can be detected by improved PTiO2 and autoregulation (PRx) in severe head injury patients.