World Neurosurg
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Epilepsy surgery is largely underused in developing counties as a result of many misconceptions. The current study evaluates complications of epilepsy surgery performed by a single surgeon from South India. ⋯ In the current study, risk of mortality was 0.1% and rate of overall major complications was 1.4%. Epilepsy surgery should be increasingly used in developing countries.
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Mannitol is the most commonly used intraoperative hypertonic solution in patients undergoing craniotomy. However, its use has been reported to be associated with hyperkalemia, which can occasionally be life threatening. ⋯ Knowledge of the existence of mannitol-induced hyperkalemia is paramount for the neurosurgeon and the anesthesiologist, because early treatment with insulin and calcium can quickly restore normal cardiac rhythm and prevent intraoperative death.
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common condition affecting children all over the world, and it represents a global public health concern. It is unclear how geopolitical, societal, and ethnic differences may influence the nature of TBI among children. ⋯ TBI is a relatively common entity stretching across traditional geographic and demographic boundaries and affecting pediatric populations worldwide. Continued civil infrastructure development and public health policy reforms may help to reduce the societal burden of pediatric TBI.
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) frequently metastasizes to the spine. The impact of medical and/or surgical intervention on overall survival has been examined in a limited number of clinical studies, and herein we systematically review these data. ⋯ Patients diagnosed with HCC spinal metastasis have a 10.6-month overall survival. Further analysis of patients in prospective controlled trials will be essential to the development of treatment algorithms for these patients in the future.
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Marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of the meninges is a rare pathologic subtype of central nervous system lymphoma that can mimic the radiologic appearance of meningioma. ⋯ Although rare, marginal zone B-cell lymphoma must be considered in the differential diagnosis of an extra-axial enhancing mass. We review the contemporary literature and discuss preoperative radiologic differentiation of these 2 very different histopathologies.