Surgical treatment for acute subdural hematomas (ASDHs) in elderly patients is still considered unsatisfactory. Series focusing on the use of conventional craniotomy or decompressive craniectomy in ...such patients report discouraging results. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score at admission seems to be crucial in the decision-making process. Deteriorating patients with a GCS score between 9 and 11 are those who would benefit most from the surgical treatment. Unfortunately, elderly patients often present other comorbidities that greatly increase the risk of severe complications after major neurosurgical procedures under general anesthesia. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of performing a mini-craniotomy under local anesthesia to treat ASDHs in a select group of elderly patients who were somnolent but still breathing autonomously at admission (GCS 9-11).
Twenty-eight elderly patients (age > 75 years) with ASDH and a GCS score at surgery ranging from 9 to 11 were surgically treated under local anesthesia by a single burr-hole mini-craniotomy (transverse diameter 3-5 cm) and hematoma evacuation. At the end of the procedure, an endoscopic inspection of the surgical cavity was performed to look for residual clots that were not visible under direct vision.
The median operation time was 65 minutes. Hematoma evacuation was complete in 22 cases, complete consciousness recovery was observed in all patients but one, and reoperation was required for two patients.
Historically, elderly patients with ASDH treated with a traditional craniotomy performed under general anesthesia have not had a good prognosis. Our preliminary experience with this less invasive surgical and anesthesiological approach suggests that somnolent but autonomously breathing elderly patients could benefit from this approach, achieving an adequate hematoma evacuation and bypassing the complications related to intubation and artificial respiratory assistance.
Retrospective study.
The aim of our study was to analyze the safety and effectiveness of posterior pedicle screw fixation for treatment of pyogenic spondylodiscitis (PSD) without formal debridement ...of the infected tissue.
Posterior titanium screw fixation without formal debridement of the infected tissue and anterior column reconstruction for the treatment of PSD is still controversial.
From March 2008 to June 2013, 18 patients with PSD underwent posterior titanium fixation with or without decompression, according to their neurological deficit. Postero-lateral fusion with allograft transplantation alone or bone graft with both the allogenic bone and the autologous bone was also performed. The outcome was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and the Frankel grading system for neurological status. Normalization both of C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was adopted as criterion for discontinuation of antibiotic therapy and infection healing. Segmental instability and fusion were also analyzed.
At the mean follow-up time of 30.16 months (range, 24-53 months), resolution of spinal infection was achieved in all patients. The mean CRP before surgery was 14.32±7.9 mg/dL, and at the final follow-up, the mean CRP decreased to 0.5±0.33 mg/dL (p <0.005). Follow-up computed tomography scan at 12 months after surgery revealed solid fusion in all patients. The VAS before surgery was 9.16±1.29 and at the final follow-up, it improved to 1.38±2.03, which was statistically significant (p <0.05). Eleven patients out of eighteen (61.11%) with initial neurological impairment had an average improvement of 1.27 grades at the final follow-up documented with the Frankel grading system.
Posterior screw fixation with titanium instrumentation was safe and effective in terms of stability and restoration of neurological impairment. Fixation also rapidly reduced back pain.
Temporalis muscle reconstruction is a necessary step during frontotemporal cranioplasty ensuing decompressive craniectomy (DC). During this procedure, scarring between the temporalis muscle and the ...dural layer may lead to complicated muscle dissection, which carries an increased risk of dura and muscle damage. At time of DC, temporalis muscle wrapping by an autologous vascularized dural flap can later on facilitate dissection and rebuilding during the subsequent cranioplasty. In a span of 2 years, we performed 57 DCs for different etiologies. In 30 cases, the temporalis muscle was isolated by wrapping its inner surface using the autologous dura. At cranioplasty, the muscle could easily be dissected from the duraplasty. The inner surface was easily freed from the autologous dural envelope, and reconstruction achieved in an almost physiological position. Follow-up examinations were held at regular intervals to disclose signs of temporalis muscle depletion. Twenty-five patients survived to undergo cranioplasty. Muscle dissection could always be performed with no injury to the dural layer. No complications related to temporalis muscle wrapping were recorded. Face asymmetry developed in four cases but it was always with bone resorption. None of the patients with a good neurological recovery reported functional or aesthetic complaints. In our experience, temporalis muscle wrapping by vascularized autologous dura proved to be effective in preserving its bulk and reducing its adhesion to duraplasty, thereby improving muscle dissection and reconstruction during cranioplasty. Functional and aesthetic results were satisfying, except in cases of bone resorption.
Spinal subarachnoid hematoma (SSH) is a rare condition, more commonly occurring after lumbar puncture for diagnostic or anesthesiological procedures. It has also been observed after traumatic events, ...in patients under anticoagulation therapy or in case of arteriovenous malformation rupture. In a very small number of cases no causative agent can be identified and a diagnosis of spontaneous SSH is established. The lumbar and thoracic spine are the most frequently involved segments and only seven cases of cervical spine SSH have been described until now. Differential diagnosis between subdural and subarachnoid hematoma is complex because the common neuroradiological investigations, including a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are not enough sensitive to exactly define clot location. Actually, confirmation of the subarachnoid location of bleeding is obtained at surgery, which is necessary to resolve the fast and sometimes dramatic evolution of clinical symptoms. Nonetheless, there are occasional reports on successful conservative treatment of these lesions. We present a peculiar case of subarachnoid hematoma of the craniocervical junction, developing after the rupture of a right temporal lobe contusion within the adjacent arachnoidal spaces and the following clot migration along the right lateral aspect of the foramen magnum and the upper cervical spine, causing severe neurological impairment. After surgical removal of the hematoma, significant symptom improvement was observed.
The Sinking Bone Syndrome? RIENZO, Alessandro DI; IACOANGELI, Maurizio; ALVARO, Lorenzo ...
Neurologia medico-chirurgica,
2013, Letnik:
53, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Bone resorption is a known complication of cranioplasty after decompressive craniectomy (DC). A peculiar group of insidious, progressive, invalidating neurological symptoms was observed in patients ...presenting with incomplete resorption and abnormal mobility of the re-implanted bone. Such symptoms were similar, but with time more severe, to those encountered in the sinking flap syndrome. Are we facing a sort of Sinking Bone Syndrome? We accurately analyze these cases and review the literature. Over a 7-years period, 312 DCs were performed at our Institution. In 7 patients, headache, vertigo, gait ataxia, confusion, blurred speech, short-term memory impairment, hemiparesis, sudden loss of consciousness, and third cranial nerve palsy were observed in a time period ranging from 18 months to 5 years after cranioplasty. Clinical and neuroradiological examinations were performed to disclose the possible etiopathogenesis of this condition. Collected data showed partial resorption of the repositioned bone and its unnatural inward movements during postural changes. Bone movements were interpreted as the major cause of the symptoms. A new cranioplasty was then performed in every case, using porous hydroxyapatite in 6 patients and polyetherketone implant in the other. Full resolution of symptoms was always obtained 3 to 20 days after the second surgery. No further complications were reported. We believe that long-term follow up in patients operated on by cranioplasty after DC will be needed regularly for years after skull reconstruction and that newly appearing symptoms should never go underestimated or simply interpreted as a long-term consequence of previous brain damage.
Background: Traumatic thoracolumbar spinal fractures represent approximately 65% of all traumatic spinal fractures and are frequently associated to permanent disability with significant social and ...economic impact. These injuries create severe physical limitations depending on neurological status, level of fracture, severity of injury, patient age and comorbidities. Predicting neurological improvement in patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCIs) is very difficult because it is related to different preoperative prognostic factors. We evaluated the neurological improvement related to the preoperative neurological conditions and the anatomic level of spinal cord injury. Methods: From January 2004 to June 2010, we operated 207 patients for unstable thoracolumbar spinal fractures. We carried out a retrospective analysis of 69 patients with traumatic SCIs operated on by a posterior fixation performed within 24 hours from the trauma. The preoperative neurological conditions (ASIA grade), the type of the fracture, the anatomic level of spinal cord injury and the postoperative neurological improvement were evaluated for each patient. Results: The ASIA grade at admission (P = 0,0005), the fracture type according to the AO spine classification (P = 0,0002), and the anatomic location of the injury (P = 0,0213) represented predictive factors of neurological improvement at univariate analysis. The preoperative neurological status (P = 0,0491) and the fracture type (P = 0,049) confirmed a positive predictive value also in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions : Our study confirms that the preoperative neurological status, the fracture type and the anatomic location of the fracture are predictive factors of the neurological outcome in patients with spinal cord injury.
One of the problems in neurosurgery is how to perform rapid and effective craniotomies that minimize the risk of injury to underlying eloquent structures. The traditional high-powered pneumatic tools ...and saws are efficient in terms of speed and penetration, but they can provoke bone necrosis and sometimes damage neurovascular structures. As an alternative, we evaluated the piezoelectric bone scalpel (piezosurgery), a device that potentially allows thinner and more precise bone cutting without lesioning neighboring delicate structures, even in the case of accidental contact.
From January 2009 to December 2011, 20 patients (8 men and 12 women), 19 to 72 years of age (mean: 49.3 years) were treated using piezosurgery. Surgery was performed for the removal of anterior cranial fossa meningiomas, orbital tumors, and sinonasal lesions with intracranial extension.
The time required to perform craniotomy using piezosurgery is a few minutes longer than with traditional drills. No damage was observed using the piezoelectric device. Follow-up clinical and neuroradiologic evaluation showed a faster and better ossification of the bone flap with good esthetic results.
Piezosurgery is a new promising technique for selective bone cutting with soft tissue preservation. This instrument seems suitable to perform precise thin osteotomies while limiting damage to the bone itself and to the underlying delicate structures even in the case of unintentional contact. These advantages make the piezoelectric bone scalpel a particularly attractive instrument in neurosurgery.
Extra-axial cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors account for approximately 10% of all brain neoplasms in adults. Vestibular schwannomas are the most common, followed by meningiomas. Gliomas in the CPA ...are rare and quite often are the exophytic extension of primary brain stem or cerebellar tumors. We describe a pilocytic astrocytoma of the CPA that was found to arise from the proximal portion of trigeminal nerve without any anatomic continuity with the brain stem and the cerebellum. Pre-operative MRI suggested a schwannoma. The proposed origin of this extremely rare tumor is the root entry zone of the involved nerve. The tumor was completely resected via a suboccipital retrosigmoid approach.
This is a rare case of giant lumbar pseudomeningocele with intra-abdominal extension in patient with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). The patient’s clinical course is retrospectively reviewed. A ...34-year-old female affected by NF1 was referred to our institution for persistent low back pain and MRI diagnosis of pseudomeningocele located at L3 level with paravertebral extension. From the first surgical procedure by a posterior approach until the relapse of the pseudomeningocele documented by MRI, the patient underwent two subsequent posterior surgical procedures to repair the dural sac defect with fat graft and fibrin glue. One month after the third operation, the abdominal MRI showed a giant intra-abdominal pseudomeningocele causing compression of visceral structures. The patient was asymptomatic. The pseudomeningocele was treated with an anterior abdominal approach and the use of the acellular dermal matrix (ADM) sutured directly on the dural defect on the anterolateral wall of the spinal canal. After six months of follow-up the MRI showed no relapse of the pseudomeningocele. Our case highlights the possible use of ADM as an effective and safe alternative to the traditional fat graft to repair challenging and large dural defects.
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