Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Several neurosurgical events occurred during the voyage of the First Fleet from England to Australia in 1787-1788. The early records also describe a number of head injuries during the first years of European settlement in Australia.
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The far lateral approaches to the lumbar spine require accurate knowledge of regional anatomy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the course of the lumbar nerve roots and their relation to important bony landmarks. Seven adult male cadavers fixed with formaldehyde were used. ⋯ The nerve roots of L1 and L2 crossed the transverse processes in their first two quarters, the L3 nerve root crossed the transverse process in its second, third or fourth quarters, and the L4 nerve roots crossed the L5 transverse process in its third and fourth quarter or even external to it. Descending toward the lower lumbar vertebrae, the diameter of the lumbar nerve root increases and the nerve roots exit the intervertebral foramen with a larger angle. The special relation between the nerve roots and the caudal vertebra transverse process should be remembered during far lateral lumbar spine approaches.
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We report a patient with an uncommon interdural epidermoid tumor, located within the confines of dural layers of the lateral wall of the cavernous sinus. The tumor was resected by a basal subtemporal extradural-interdural approach. Following the surgery, the 45-year-old female patient recovered completely from her symptoms of atypical neuralgic facial pains.
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Penetrating head injury from nailguns has become increasingly recognised due to their frequent use in the construction industry and home. We report a New Zealand case series of 12 penetrating nailgun head injuries, the largest of its type, detailing presentation, management, risk factors and outcomes. ⋯ Prognostic factors on initial imaging are discussed. The majority of injuries, despite being visually impressive, are associated with minimal neurological impairment.
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Aneurysms of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) are rare, and may arise in unusual locations due to the complex and variable anatomy of this artery. The PICA does not usually originate from the extracranial vertebral artery. Of the few reported extracranial PICA aneurysms, all affected the distal segment. We describe an unusual extracranial PICA-vertebral artery (VA) junction aneurysm.