Surgical neurology international
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Patient-specific implants are used for cranioplastic skull reconstruction when large bone flaps must be replaced or where there are complex or critical contours, especially near the face. These implants have a low complication rate, with poor fit and postoperative infection being the most common complications. We report here a potentially serious hazard that may arise from the use of porous implants. ⋯ In this case, dural adhesion and ingrowth to the underside of the cranioplasty implant led to disastrous bleeding when the implant needed to be removed years after initial implantation.
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Some complications related to vertebral artery occlusion by endovascular technique have been reported. However, cerebellar hemorrhage after vertebral artery occlusion in subacute phase is rare. In this report, we describe a patient who showed cerebellar hemorrhage during hypertensive therapy for vasospasm after embolization of a vertebral dissecting aneurysm. ⋯ Although cerebellar hemorrhage is not prone to occur in the nonacute stage of embolization of the vertebral artery, it should be taken into consideration that cerebellar hemorrhage may occur during hypertensive treatment.
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The underlying pathophysiology leading to syringomyelia is elusive with multiple flow-related theories constituting our current limited understanding of the disease process. Syringomyelia is associated with pathologies related to the disturbance of cerebral spinal fluid flow found in conditions such as Chiari I malformations, spinal malignancy, spinal cord tethering, trauma, or arachnoid adhesions. Our aim is to describe a unique surgical shunting technique used to treat refractory cases of idiopathic syringomyelia. ⋯ Shunting procedures for the syringomyelia disease spectrum have been criticized due to the inconsistent long-term outcomes. This surgical technique used to treat symptomatic idiopathic syringomyelia has been devised based on our intraoperative experience, surgical outcomes, and evaluation of the literature. The purpose of the wedges is to preserve patency of the communication between the syrinx cavity and the expanded subarachnoid space by preventing healing of the myelotomy edges and by maintaining an artificial conduit between the syrinx cavity and the subarachnoid space. Although short-term results are promising, continued long-term follow up is needed to determine the ultimate success of the silastic wedge shunting procedure.
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Increasingly, clinical articles document that bone morphogenetic protein (BMP/INFUSE: Medtronic, Memphis, TN, USA) and its derivatives utilized in spinal surgery increase the risk of developing cancer. However, there is also a large body of basic science articles that also document that various types of BMP and other members of the TGF-Beta (transforming growth factor beta) family promote the growth of different types of cancers. ⋯ BMP/INFUSE when utilized clinically in spinal fusion surgery appears to promote cancer at higher rates than observed in the overall population. Furthermore, BMP and TGF-beta are correlated with increased cancer growth both in the clinic and the laboratory.
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What are the risks, benefits, alternatives, and pitfalls for operating on cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL)? To successfully diagnose OPLL, it is important to obtain Magnetic Resonance Images (MR). These studies, particularly the T2 weighted images, provide the best soft-tissue documentation of cord/root compression and intrinsic cord abnormalities (e.g. edema vs. myelomalacia) on sagittal, axial, and coronal views. Obtaining Computed Tomographic (CT) scans is also critical as they best demonstrate early OPLL, or hypertrophied posterior longitudinal ligament (HPLL: hypo-isodense with punctate ossification) or classic (frankly ossified) OPLL (hyperdense). ⋯ Rarely, this requires single/multilevel anterior cervical diskectomy/fusion (ACDF), as this approach typically fails to address retrovertebral OPLL; single or multilevel corpectomies are usually warranted. In short, successful OPLL surgery relies on careful patient selection (e.g. assess comorbidities), accurate MR/CT documentation of OPLL, and limiting the pros, cons, and complications of these complex procedures by choosing the optimal surgical approach. Performing OPLL surgery requires stringent anesthetic (awake intubation/positioning) and also the following intraoperative monitoring protocols: Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP), motor evoked potentials (MEP), and electromyography (EMG).