1/44. Cerebral herniation after lumbar puncture in sarcoid meningitis.A patient with chronic meningitis due to neurosarcoidosis became comatose within minutes of a lumbar puncture and died 24 h later. The diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis was made post mortem. Development of cerebral herniation may have been exacerbated by lumbar puncture. It was proposed that arachnoid villi dysfunction may have contributed to very high intracranial pressures in this patient, since post mortem examination revealed communication between the ventricles and outlet foramina of the fourth ventricle, and that herniation was in part due to an acute pressure differential caused by lumbar puncture.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/44. Flaccid quadriplegia from tonsillar herniation in pneumococcal meningitis.A young woman with fulminant pyogenic meningitis became quadriplegic, areflexic and flaccid due to herniation of the cerebellar tonsils and compression of the upper cervical cord. This state of spinal shock was associated with absent F-waves. intracranial pressure was greatly elevated and there was an uncertain relationship of tonsillar descent to a preceding lumbar puncture. Partial recovery occurred over 2 years. Tonsillar herniation can cause flaccid quadriplegia that may be mistaken for critical illness polyneuropathy. This case demonstrates cervicomedullary infarction from compression, a mechanism that is more likely than the sometimes proposed infectious vasculitis of the upper cord.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/44. Spontaneous CSF rhinorrhoea due to temporosphenoidal encephalocele.A 54-year-old woman was referred with spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhoea. CT cisternography revealed a defect in the lateral wall of the left sphenoid sinus, with an anteromedial temperosphenoidal encephalocele associated with contrast leakage into the sinus. Subsequent monitoring showed raised intracranial pressure. Transcranial intradural repair of the encephalocele followed by lumboperitoneal shunt for the high pressure abolished the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/44. Neoplastic growth of cerebral cavernous malformation presenting with impending cerebral herniation: a case report and review of the literature on de novo growth of cavernomas.BACKGROUND: Cerebral cavernomas are rare vascular anomalies and their expansile growth has been considered to be mainly due to recurrent hemorrhages. They are not generally reported to show aggressive behavior.CASE DESCRIPTION: A 27-year-old male presented with headache, visual disturbances, and a 17-year history of seizures. He was known to have a temporal lobe lesion on CT scan, consistent with a diagnosis of cavernous malformation but with no relevant family history. Serial clinical and radiological follow-up revealed a progressive increase in the size of the lesion with formation of a growing cyst of 7 cm in diameter, which produced mass effect, resulting in the clinical picture of cerebral herniation. The patient underwent emergency surgical resection with symptomatic relief. There was no evidence of significant hemorrhage at surgery.CONCLUSION: Cavernous malformations can show expansile growth without any evidence of a presaging hemorrhagic event and, in the manner of a neoplastic lesion, present with raised intracranial pressure and cerebral herniation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/44. Management of hydrocephalus associated with occipital encephalocoele using endoscopic third ventriculostomy: report of two cases.BACKGROUND: Occipital encephalocoele is the most common cranial dysraphism in the western hemisphere and is often complicated by hydrocephalus. Management of hydrocephalus and reducing the CSF pressure is crucial in preventing dehiscence at the site of the encephalocoele repair. methods: Two female patients had presented with occipital encephalocoeles. The first patient (aged 42 days) had undergone repair of the occipital encephalocoele and then developed hydrocephalus with recurrence of the encephalocoele. The second patient (aged 12 months) had hydrocephalus associated with an occipital encephalocoele at initial presentation.Both the patients underwent endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) through a right frontal burr hole. In the first patient, ETV was performed after shunt dysfunction at the age of 9 months. Because she presented with recurrence of the encephalocoele 15 months later, a repeat endoscopic third ventriculostomy was performed. She required a ventriculoperitoneal shunt during the same admission because of the early failure of the ventriculostomy. In the second patient, it was performed before the encephalocoele repair, both ETV and the repair being conducted under the same anesthesia. ETV was performed using a rigid scope and the perforation in the third ventricular floor was enlarged using a No. 4 Fogarty catheter. RESULTS: The first patient had no recurrence of encephalocoele at follow-up of 10 months but she presented with recurrence of the occipital encephalocoele after 15 months. The second patient had no evidence of recurrence at follow-up after 16 months. The lateral and third ventricular volumes had decreased in both the patients at initial follow-up. CONCLUSION: ETV can be an effective treatment option for encephalocoele-associated hydrocephalus, even in children under the age of 1 year. It may obviate the need for placement of CSF shunts that have a risk of infection and dysfunction. However, delayed failure of ETV may occur as seen in our first patient, indicating the need for careful and long-term follow-up.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/44. Management of multiple spontaneous nasal meningoencephaloceles.OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Multiple spontaneous nasal meningoencephaloceles in the same patient are rare lesions. Although many skull base defects occur after prior trauma or surgery, otolaryngologists must be aware of the potential for spontaneous encephaloceles. We present our experience with this unusual condition and discuss its pathophysiology and unique management issues. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective. methods: review of medical records, radiographic images, and cerebrospinal fluid pressures. RESULTS: We identified 5 patients with multiple, simultaneous, spontaneous encephaloceles: 4 patients with 2 encephaloceles and 1 patient with 3 encephaloceles (11 in all). Locations of the 11 encephaloceles were sphenoid lateral recess (6), frontal sinus with supraorbital ethmoid extension (2), ethmoid roof (1), frontal sinus (1), and central sphenoid (1). Three patients had bilateral sphenoid lateral recess encephaloceles, accounting for all six in that location. All four patients with available radiographic studies demonstrated empty sella turcica. Surgical approaches included endoscopic transpterygoid approach to the lateral sphenoid recess (3), endoscopic approach to ethmoid and central sphenoid (3), and osteoplastic flap with frontal sinus obliteration (2). We had 100% success at latest endoscopic follow-up (mean period, 17 mo). Three patients had postoperative lumbar punctures with mean cerebrospinal fluid pressure of 28.3 cm water (range, 19-34 cm; normal range, 0-15 cm). Conclusions: Multiple spontaneous encephaloceles can be managed safely and successfully using endoscopic and extracranial approaches. A high index of suspicion for this diagnosis must be maintained, especially in patients with radiographic evidence of laterally pneumatized sphenoid sinuses or empty sella. Spontaneous encephaloceles and cerebrospinal fluid leaks represent a form of intracranial hypertension.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/44. Proposed use of prophylactic decompressive craniectomy in poor-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients presenting with associated large sylvian hematomas.OBJECTIVE: As a group, patients who present in poor neurological grade after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) often have poor outcomes. There may be subgroups of these patients, however, in which one pathological process predominates and for which the initiation of specific therapeutic interventions that target the predominant pathological process may result in improved outcome. We report the use of prophylactic decompressive craniectomy in patients presenting in poor neurological condition after SAH from middle cerebral artery aneurysms with associated large sylvian fissure hematomas. Craniectomy allowed significant parenchymal swelling in the posthemorrhagic period without increased intracranial pressure (ICP) or herniation syndrome. methods: Eight patients (mean age, 56.5 yr; age range, 42-66 yr) presented comatose with SAH (five Hunt and Hess Grade IV, three Hunt and Hess Grade V). Radiographic evaluations demonstrated middle cerebral artery aneurysm and associated large sylvian fissure hematoma (mean clot volume, 121 ml; range, 30-175 ml). patients were brought emergently to the operating room and treated with a modification of the pterional craniotomy and aneurysm clipping that included a planned craniectomy and duraplasty. A large, reverse question mark scalp flap was created, followed by bone removal with the following margins: anterior, frontal to the midpupillary line; posterior at least 2 cm behind the external auditory meatus; superior up to 2 cm lateral to the superior sagittal sinus; and inferior to the floor of the middle cranial fossa. Generous duraplasty was performed using either pericranium or suitable, commercially available dural substitutes. RESULTS: All of the eight patients tolerated the craniectomy without operative complications. Postoperatively, all patients experienced immediate decreases in ICP to levels at or below 20 mm Hg (presentation mean ICP, 31.6 mm Hg; postoperative mean ICP, 13.1 mm Hg). ICP control was sustained in seven of eight patients, with the one exception being due to a massive hemispheric infarction secondary to refractory vasospasm. Follow-up (> or = 1 yr, except for one patient who died during the hospital stay) demonstrated that the craniectomy patients had a remarkably high number of good or excellent outcomes. The outcomes in the hemicraniectomy group were five good or excellent, one fair, and two poor or dead. CONCLUSION: The data gathered in this study demonstrate that decompressive craniectomy can be performed safely as part of initial management for a subcategory of patients with SAH who present with large sylvian fissure hematomas. In addition, the performance of decompressive craniectomy in the patients described in this article seemed to be associated with rapid and sustained control of ICP. Although the number of patients in this study is small, the data lend support to the hypothesis that decompressive craniectomy may be associated with good or excellent outcome in a carefully selected subset of patients with SAH.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/44. Rapid development of Chiari I malformation in an infant with Seckel syndrome and craniosynostosis. Case report and review of the literature.To illustrate the rapidity with which a child can develop a severe, symptomatic Chiari I malformation, the authors present the case of a 3-month-old infant with Seckel syndrome (microcephaly, micrognathia, craniosynostosis, and multiple other abnormalities) and posterior sagittal and bilateral lambdoid synostosis. The infant underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging shortly after birth; the initial image demonstrated the cerebellar tonsils in the posterior fossa, with no herniation. He subsequently developed severe apneic episodes and bradycardia; repeated MR imaging at 3 months demonstrated severe tonsillar herniation with compression of the brainstem. The child underwent posterior fossa remodeling surgery, including release of the posterior sagittal and lambdoid sutures and decompression of the Chiari I malformation. The patient's apnea gradually improved; however, he died of complications of pneumonia and sepsis several weeks later. The authors identified from the literature 21 patients in whom there was a documented MR image or other neuroimage that did not reveal evidence of a Chiari I malformation, followed by a subsequent study with clear documentation of the presence of Chiari I malformation. The interval between the initial study and the development of the tonsillar herniation ranged from 11 days to 18.5 years. In most cases, a lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion had been performed. This patient developed a severely symptomatic Chiari I malformation during a 3-month period. These reports illustrate that the Chiari I malformation can develop rapidly in the face of increased intracranial pressure, craniosynostosis, and spinal CSF diversion.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/44. Reverse brain herniation during posterior fossa surgery.Posterior fossa tumors are commonly associated with obstructive hydrocephalus. Relieving the raised intracranial pressure by draining the cerebrospinal fluid presents the possibility of reverse herniation of the brain. A 5-year-old male child with a diagnosis of posterior fossa space-occupying lesion and hydrocephalus was scheduled for craniectomy in the prone position. After craniectomy, the surgeons placed an intraventricular shunt catheter to drain out cerebrospinal fluid in an attempt to reduce the tense brain so as to facilitate easy dissection of the tumor. The patient had sudden and severe bradycardia followed by asystole. A diagnosis of reverse coning was made. Immediately, the surgeon injected 10-15 mL normal saline into the ventricles. There was a spontaneous return of the sinus rhythm and the rest of the course of surgery was uneventful. We present this case showing a rare phenomenon and its successful management.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/44. Orbital compartment syndrome mimicking cerebral herniation in a 12-yr-old boy with severe traumatic asphyxia.OBJECTIVE: To report a case of orbital compartment syndrome mimicking cerebral herniation in a boy with severe traumatic asphyxia. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: A tertiary-care pediatric intensive care unit. SUBJECT: A 12-yr-old boy with traumatic asphyxia syndrome. INTERVENTION: Mechanical ventilation, chest tube drainage, nitric oxide, lateral canthotomies, intracranial pressure monitoring. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A patient is presented with severe traumatic asphyxia syndrome complicated by prolonged hypoxemia, massive capillary leak syndrome, and acute onset of pupillary dilation and loss of reactivity to light. Ophthalmologic examination confirmed bilateral orbital compartment syndrome, which was treated emergently with bilateral canthotomies at the bedside. The procedure was followed by prompt return of pupillary size and function and decrease in intraocular pressure. The patient experienced complete recovery of vision in the right eye, but vision in the left eye was severely impaired. CONCLUSIONS: Our case report emphasizes the importance of considering orbital compartment syndrome in patients with traumatic asphyxia syndrome. Recognition of orbital compartment syndrome is important in this setting because prompt operative intervention may reduce the likelihood of permanent vision loss.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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