Syringomyelia is characterized by a fuid-flled cavity within the spinal cord. Expansion of the syrinx often results in the clinical course of progressive neurologic deficit. Surgery for syringomyelia ...generally aims to treat the underlying cause, if it is known. However, little is known about idiopathic syringomyelia, which requires specific management. In our paper, an alternative, minimally invasive treatment option for large symptomatic idiopathic cervicothoracic syrinx is described and discussed. We present a case of a 44-year-old male without a history of spinal cord trauma, infection, or other pathologic processes, who presented for thoracic pain. Due to progressive pain and left leg paresis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed and revealed extensive septated syringomyelia from T5 to T7 and hydromyelia cranially. We applied minimally invasive technique for shunting the idiopathic syrinx into the subarachnoid space using two Richards modified myringotomy T-tubes. Postoperative MRI revealed significant decrease in the syrinx size and clinical six-month follow-up showed improvement of clinical symptoms. This minimally invasive treatment of syringomyelia was found to be an effective method for idiopathic septated syrinx, without evident underlying cause. However, long-term follow-up and more patients are necessary for definitive evaluation of this technique. Key words: Syringomyelia; Magnetic resonance imaging; Cerebrospinal fuid shunts; Middle ear ventilation
The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly transforming the healthcare system, with telemedicine, or virtual health, being one of the key drivers of the change. Smart glasses have recently been introduced to ...the public and have generated interest with healthcare professionals as demonstrated by their early adoption in clinics and hospitals. Observing procedures is essential for young interventionalist-in-training, but sometimes it is difficult for them to be able to get the volume of exposure to procedures that they need. Here, we report the first experience using smart glasses for Neurointerventional procedures, highlighting potential benefits and limitations during different scenarios including invitro and life cases. This field is novel, innovative, and may have potential to improve both patient care and patient safety in other health care settings.
•The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly transforming the healthcare system.•Telemedicine, or virtual health, is one of the key drivers of the change.•Observing procedures is essential for young interventionalist-in-training.
Lumbar spine synovial cysts are benign growths adjoining the facet joints that may induce low back pain, lumbar radiculopathy and neurological deficit. However, they are not well defined concerning ...their origin, cause and pathology, as well as available treatment strategies. The scope of different surgical procedures includes image-guided epidural steroid injection, direct cyst puncture by percutaneous epidural needle, spinal canal decompression and cyst resection, and spinal bone fusion with/without instrumentation. Hereby, we report institutional experience and discuss surgical strategies of lumbar spine synovial cyst treatment. Presenting symptoms, imaging findings and outcomes were retrospectively analyzed in 15 patients with lumbar spine synovial cyst, operated on during a one-year period. The leading presenting symptom was lumbar radicular pain, while the most commonly involved vertebral level was L5-S1. In a great majority of patients, a single-level interlaminectomy and cyst resection were performed. Most patients recovered without postoperative neurological and functional deficit, as well as surgery-related complications. No poor outcome was noticed in our series. Concerning our results and literature review, the optimal management for patients with symptomatic lumbar synovial cyst has to be highly personalized, which is essential to achieve a favorable outcome. Nonetheless, the best treatment strategy has yet to be affirmed.
Opioids are considered the cornerstone of pain management in palliative care. Available data suggest that older patients use different analgesics and lower opioid doses compared to younger patients. ...However, it has not been elucidated yet whether such dosing is associated with worse pain levels or shorter survival in the palliative care setting. We evaluated the relationship among pain scores, quality of life, opioid dose, and survival in palliative care cancer patients in a hospice setting. A total of 137 palliative care cancer patients were analyzed prospectively. We divided patients into two groups using the age of 65 as a cut-off value. Younger patients exhibited significantly higher pain ratings (5.14
vs.
3.59, p=0.01), although older patients used almost 20 mg less oral morphine equivalent (OME) on arrival (p=0.36) and 55 mg OME/day less during the last week (p=0.03). There were no differences in survival between the two groups (17.36
vs.
17.58 days). The elderly patients also used nonsteroidal analgesics less often and paracetamol more often. Hence, using lower opioid doses in older palliative care cancer patients does not result in worse pain rating, and could be a plausible approach for pain management in this patient group.
In contrast to tumors in children, between 6% and 20% of all brain tumors in adults arise solitary in the posterior cranial fossa. Given their rarity in adults, as well as the importance and ...complexity of their treatment, this paper reviews and discusses the clinical and surgical characteristics of such tumors. In a retrospective single-institution observational study, adult patients with posterior fossa tumors treated surgically over a ten-year period were analyzed. The characteristics observed were age and gender distribution, clinical symptoms, histopathologic tumor type, tumor size, location and extent of surgical resection, tumor recurrence and postoperative complications, as well as surgical outcome. Sixty-six patients who underwent surgical treatment were diagnosed with a tumor in the posterior fossa. The mean age was 63 years, and patients were evenly distributed by gender. The most common histopathologic type was metastatic tumor (59.1%), whereas meningioma was the most common primary brain tumor (16.6%) recorded. Most patients presented with vegetative and cerebellar symptoms in general and cranial nerve palsy, especially in the occurrence of vestibular schwannoma. In conclusion, posterior fossa tumors grow in a confined space and therefore may directly threaten vital centers in their immediate vicinity. Thus, it is crucial to schedule an appropriate surgical intervention as soon as possible, as it can significantly improve treatment outcome and prognosis of the disease. If possible, meticulous total tumor resection should be the treatment of choice. In the case of hydrocephalus, a ventriculoperitoneal shunt should be considered as an alternative surgical option after tumor resection.
Giant cavernomas (GC) are rare lesions, with less than 50 cases reported so far. Clinical presentation usually involves epileptic seizures and less typically focal neurological deficit, due to ...repeated hemorrhages and GC mass effect and consequentially increased intracranial pressure. Although individual cases have been reported, due to the rarity and variable imaging appearance, GCs are usually not considered in the differential diagnosis of large hemorrhagic lesions, especially when significant mass effect is present. A 17-year-old boy presented due to severe headache, right-sided weakness, and slurred speech. Symptoms started three days before with occasional headaches, which intensified gradually. Emergency computed tomography revealed a left frontal massive heterogeneous lesion. Soon after, right-sided hemiparesis and speech impairment progressed, and the patient became drowsy with the slightly dilated left pupil. Emergency surgery was performed, and the lobed grayish lesion was entirely removed. Based on the macroscopic appearance, the surgeon assumed it was a metastasis of melanoma. Histopathologic analysis result was cavernoma. GC should be considered as an option in hemorrhagic lesions, especially in the young age population. Emergency surgery for mass lesions is not uncommon in neurosurgery; however, bleeding cavernomas are usually planned for elective surgery due to the specific approach and complications. Key words: Hemangioma, cavernous; Intracranial hemorrhages; Intracranial pressure; Paresis; Neurosurgery
We analyzed aneurysm morphology, demographic and clinical characteristics in patients with anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms to investigate the risk factors contributing to aneurysm ...rupture. A total of 219 patients with ACoA aneurysms were admitted to our hospital between January 2016 and December 2020, and morphological and clinical characteristics were analyzed retrospectively in 153 patients (112 ruptured and 41 unruptured). Medical records were reviewed to obtain demographic and clinical data on age, gender, presence of hemorrhage, history of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease. Morphological parameters examined on 3-dimensional digital subtraction angiography included aneurysm size, neck diameter, aspect ratio, size ratio, bottleneck ratio, height/width ratio, aneurysm angle, (in)flow angle, branching angle, number of aneurysms
patient, shape of the aneurysm, aneurysm wall morphology, variation of the A1 segment, and direction of the aneurysm. Male gender, aspect ratio, height/width ratio, non-spherical and irregular shape were associated with higher odds of rupture, whilst controlled hypertension was associated with lower odds of rupture, when tested using univariate logistic regression model. In multivariate model, controlled hypertension, presence of multiple aneurysms, and larger neck diameter reduced the odds of rupture, while irregular wall morphology increased the risk of rupture. Regulated hypertension represented a significant protective factor from ACoA aneurysm rupture. We found that ACoA aneurysms in male patients and those with greater aspect ratios and height/width ratios, larger aneurysm angles, presence of daughter sacs and irregular and non-spherical shapes were at a higher risk of rupture.
- Missile injuries are among the most devastating injuries in general traumatology. Traumatic brachial plexus injuries are the most difficult injuries in peripheral nerve surgery, and most ...complicated to be surgically treated. Nevertheless, missile wounding is the second most common mechanism of brachial plexus injury. The aim was to evaluate functional recovery after surgical treatment of these injuries. Our series included 68 patients with 202 nerve lesions treated with 207 surgical procedures. Decision on the treatment modality (exploration, neurolysis, graft repair, or combination) was made upon intraoperative finding. Results were analyzed in 60 (88.2%) patients with 173 (85.6%) nerve lesions followed-up for two years. Functional recovery was evaluated according to functional priorities. Satisfactory functional recovery was achieved in 90.4% of cases with neurolysis and 85.7% of cases with nerve grafting. Insufficient functional recovery was verified in ulnar and radial nerve lesions after neurolysis, and in median and radial nerve lesions when graft repair was done. We conclude that the best time for surgery is between two and four months after injury, except for the gunshot wound associated with injury to the surrounding structures, which requires immediate surgical treatment. The results of neurolysis and nerve grafting were similar.
Highlights • Confirmation of bilateral corticobulbar pathway projections for laryngeal muscles. • Domination of contralateral corticobulbar pathway projections for laryngeal muscles in healthy ...subjects and patients. • Use of preoperative brain mapping and monitoring of intraoperative corticobulbar motor evoked potentials (CoMEPs) for patients with lesions within the primary motor brain areas of laryngeal muscle representation.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans. Clinically useful molecular markers that help predict response to therapy and prognosis ...are still rare. The research was conducted in 55 patients with GBM, 26 (47.3%) women and 29 (52.7%) men, mean age 62.58 years. On immunohistochemical analysis, primary antibody to CD44 (dilution 1:50) and primary antibody to endoglin (CD105) (dilution 1:250) were used to evaluate neovascularization. Statistical analysis showed negative correlation between CD44 and survival (p=0.023) (higher expression of CD44 was correlated with shorter survival), but there was no correlation between neovascularization determined by CD105 in GBM and patient survival. Thus, significant individual predictors of longer survival were lower expression of CD44 (p=0.004), higher Karnofsky score (p=0.045), and female gender (p=0.017). The results obtained suggested the possible role of CD44 in the progression and tumor neovascularization of GBM.
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