World Neurosurg
-
Case Reports
A case report of Hemifacial spasms due to bony stenosis of the Internal auditory meatus: Look beyond the loop.
Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a neuromuscular disorder resulting from cranial nerve VII compression at the root entry zone, characterized by brief, involuntary, progressive spasms of muscles on one side of face. The cisternal part of cranial nerve VII myelinated by Schwann cells is considered relatively resistant to compression. Rarely, direct compression over this segment without coexistent root entry zone compression may also result in HFS. An aberrant vessel posterior inferior cerebellar artery/anterior inferior cerebellar artery loop remains the leading cause of compression at this location. Cerebellopontine angle tumors or cysts may affect cranial nerve VII distally. However, bony meatal stenosis with pure distal facial nerve compression leading to HFS in the absence of other clinical symptoms has not been reported. ⋯ An aberrant anterior inferior cerebellar artery vascular loop is usually the most frequent lesion causing compression of the distal cisternal part of the facial nerve. However, other purely distal or coexistent lesions must be actively sought for both in preoperative radiologic images and during surgery.
-
Bow hunter's syndrome (BHS) is caused by posterior circulation insufficiency that results from the occlusion or compression of the vertebral artery (VA) during neck rotation. Owing to its rarity, there is no guideline to support the decision of selecting a conservative or a surgical approach. Management of BHS is dependent on each patient. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first case of BHS with VA dissecting aneurysm and aplasia of C1 lamina. Based on this case, we suggest that C1-C2 posterior fusion is effective for BHS with VA dissecting aneurysm.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Assessing the Effects of Publication Bias on Reported Outcomes of Cervical Disc Replacement and Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Meta-Epidemiological Study.
There have been several clinical trials as well as observational studies that have compared the outcomes of different cervical disc replacement (CDR) devices with anterior cervical disc replacement and fusion (ACDF). Although the results of these studies have provided sufficient evidence for the safety of CDR, there is still a lack of consensus in terms of longer-term outcomes, with studies providing equivocal results for the 2 procedures. In the current study, we used a novel methodology, a meta-epidemiologic study, to investigate the impact of study characteristics on the observed effects in the literature on CDR and ACDF. ⋯ These results indicate that there may be a publication bias regarding the year of publication, with earlier studies reporting lower reoperation rates for CDR compared with ACDF.
-
Review Case Reports
Cutaneous Metastasis from Cervical Spinal Chordoma: Case Report and Literature Review.
Chordomas are rare primary tumors of the bone that arise from embryonic notochord. They are locally aggressive tumors with a high tendency for postsurgical recurrence. On the other hand, distant metastases are rare. When they occur, they involve lungs, liver, lymph nodes, and bones. Skin and subcutaneous tissue involvement is even rarer and usually occurs by direct extension of the primary tumor or by local recurrence. Distant cutaneous metastasis from chordoma is an exceptional finding, with fewer than 20 cases reported in the literature. All the cutaneous metastases described derive from sacral chordomas, except for 2 cases in which the source of metastasis is skull-base chordomas. ⋯ Metastasis has to be taken into account in the differential diagnosis when a new skin lesion appears in a patient with a past medical history of chordoma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cutaneous metastasis from spinal cervical chordoma. A systematic literature review was performed.
-
Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Microsurgical clipping compared to new and most advanced endovascular techniques in the treatment of unruptured middle cerebral artery aneurysms: a meta-analysis in the modern era.
Analyzing occlusion, complications rate, and clinical results in unruptured saccular middle cerebral artery aneurysms (MCAAs) comparing clipping with the most advance and newer endovascular techniques. ⋯ Treatment-related complication and mortality are comparable among these techniques and the risk of aneurysm rupture seems very low for both strategies. The endovascular approach seems to increase the probability of good functional outcome after treatment, compared with surgery.