Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Predictors of aggressive clinical phenotype among immunohistochemically confirmed atypical adenomas.
Despite formal pathological criteria, not all atypical pituitary adenomas display clinically aggressive behavior. We set out to determine which factors predict a clinically aggressive phenotype among a cohort of atypical pituitary adenomas. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed from April 2008 to July 2015. ⋯ Clinically aggressive lesions, however, trended towards a greater average MIB-1 proliferative index (7.5%±4.9 vs. 6.0%±3.6, p=0.03). On multivariate analysis, the MIB-1 proliferative index trended towards statistical significance (p=0.06) as an independent predictor of clinical aggressiveness. Atypical pituitary adenomas are defined by a rigid set of immunohistochemical markers, but not all necessarily demonstrate an aggressive clinical phenotype.
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Review Case Reports
Cerebral vasospasm and delayed ischaemic deficit following elective aneurysm clipping.
Although common after subarachnoid haemorrhage, cerebral vasospasm (CVS) and delayed ischaemic neurological deficit (DIND) rarely occur following elective clipping of unruptured aneurysms. The onset of this complication is variable and its pathophysiology is poorly understood. We report two patients with CVS associated with DIND following unruptured aneurysmal clipping. ⋯ In one patient, this was done promptly and the patient made a complete recovery, but in the other, the diagnosis was delayed for more than 24hours and the patient had residual hemiparesis and dysphasia due to MCA territory infarction. CVS and DIND following treatment of unruptured aneurysms is a very rare event. However, clinicians should be vigilant as prompt diagnosis and management is required to minimise the risk of cerebral infarction and poor outcome.
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Laminoplasty (LMP) is a widely accepted surgical procedure for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the cervical spine. Progression of OPLL can occur in the long term after LMP. The aim of the present study was to determine whether addition of the instrumented fusion, (posterior decompression with instrumented fusion [PDF]), can suppress progression of OPLL or not. ⋯ Progression of the thickness of the OPLL in the PDF group (-0.1±0.4mm) was significantly smaller than in the LMP group (0.6±0.7mm, p=0.0002). The proportion of patients showing the decrease in thickness of OPLL was significantly larger in the PDF group (6/27 patients; 22%) than in the LMP group (0/23 patients; 0%, p=0.05). In conclusion, PDF surgery can suppress the thickening of OPLL.
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Intraoperative rerupture (IOR) during clipping of cerebral aneurysms is a difficult complication of microneurosurgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of IOR and analyze the strategies for controlling profound hemorrhage. A total of 165 patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms and 46 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) treated surgically between April 2010 and March 2011, were reviewed. ⋯ One was major IOR, three were moderate and two were minor. Intraoperative rupture of an intracranial aneurysm can be potentially devastating in vascular neurosurgery. Aneurysm location, presence of SAH and surgical experience of the operating surgeon seem to be important factors affecting the incidence of IOR.
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Pneumorrachis (PR) is characterized by the presence of air within the spinal canal. It can be classified descriptively into internal or intradural and external or epidural. The causes of PR can be divided as iatrogenic, nontraumatic and traumatic. ⋯ It is a marker of severe injury and the majority of such patients have a poor outcome. Although, PR is usually asymptomatic and reabsorbs spontaneously, prompt recognition and management of the underlying cause is essential. Therefore, clinicians should maintain a high level of suspicion for serious underlying injury in cases where initial radiological imaging reveals intraspinal air.