1/1406. pituitary apoplexy after cardiac surgery presenting as deep coma with dilated pupils.Acute clinical deterioration due to infarction or haemorrhage of an existing, often previously unrecognized, pituitary tumour is a rare but well-described complication. It can occur spontaneously or may be caused e.g. by mechanical ventilation, infection or surgical procedures. We report on a case of pituitary apoplexy occurring in a 64-year-old patient 3 weeks after cardiac surgery. The patient presented with deep coma and dilated pupils. magnetic resonance imaging revealed a haemorrhagic pituitary tumour. After prompt endocrinologic replacement therapy with levothyroxine and hydrocortisone the patient regained consciousness. Neurological examination revealed right oculomotor nerve palsy and bilateral cranial nerve VI palsy. Subsequent trans-sphenoidal removal of a nonfunctional macroadenoma with large necrotic areas was performed. The patient recovered completely. To our knowledge, pituitary tumours presenting with a combination of deep coma and dilated pupils must be considered exceedingly rare. Possible pathophysiologic mechanisms are discussed. As our case illustrates, even in severe cases complete recovery is possible if the diagnosis is suspected, and diagnostic and therapeutic measures are initiated in time.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = haemorrhage (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/1406. akinetic mutism after fourth ventricle choroid plexus papilloma: treatment with a dopamine agonist.BACKGROUND: akinetic mutism is a behavioral state wherein a patient seems to be awake but does not move or speak. Several patients are reported to have developed mutism after posterior fossa surgery. We present a patient who developed akinetic mutism after total excision of a choroid plexus papilloma of the fourth ventricle, and who was treated with bromocriptine. CASE DESCRIPTION: An 18-year-old woman was admitted with akinetic mutism, which had developed 6 days after posterior fossa surgery. She had had no neurologic deficit in the first 5 days after surgery and could communicate with her family. Despite antioedematous therapy and daily lumbar punctures to drain cerebrospinal fluid, there was no clinical improvement after she entered the akinetic mute state. Brain magnetic resonance revealed ventriculomegaly; brain single photon emission computed tomography revealed bilateral reduction of perfusion in the frontal region. Because daily lumbar drainage did not result in clinical improvement, shunt placement was not considered. bromocriptine therapy was begun at a dose of 2x2.5 mg; 24 hours later, the patient started to speak and move her upper extremities. Further improvement occurred over the following week when the dose was increased to 3x2.5 mg. bromocriptine was replaced with a placebo to determine whether the neurologic improvement was caused by the medicine. The patient's neurologic status deteriorated progressively; therefore, bromocriptine was restarted and she was discharged from the hospital. During the 6 months of follow-up, the patient has remained in good health. CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of akinetic mutism is not clear. Monoaminergic pathways, particularly dopaminergic cell groups, are most probably involved in this syndrome, because bromocriptine has a dramatic effect on these patients, as demonstrated in our case.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0023820592895656keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/1406. Intracerebral pneumatocele: an unusual complication following intraventricular drainage in case of benign intracranial hypertension.The development of an intracerebral pneumatocele following ventricular catheterization for benign intracranial hypertension is described. The importance of skull radiography in the diagnosis of this previously unreported complication ist emphasized. This case demonstrates that air can accumulate without the need to implicate increased pharyngeal pressure, and despite raised intracranial pressure.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.3839391609453keywords = cerebral, intracerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/1406. Contralateral deafness following unilateral suboccipital brain tumor surgery in a patient with large vestibular aqueduct--case report.A 68-year-old female developed contralateral deafness following extirpation of a left cerebellopontine angle epidermoid cyst. Computed tomography showed that large vestibular aqueduct was present. This unusual complication may have been caused by an abrupt pressure change after cerebrospinal fluid release, which was transmitted through the large vestibular aqueduct and resulted in cochlear damage.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0095282371582622keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/1406. Anatomical and embryological considerations in the repair of a large vertex cephalocele. Case report.The case of a neonate with a large vertex cephalocele is presented. The anatomical features of this anomaly were evaluated by means of magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography. Fusion of the thalami, dysgenesis of the corpus callosum, and failure of adequate formation of the interhemispheric fissure were characteristics of the major cerebral anomalies associated with the cephalocele. The absence of a falx in the midline, a split configuration of the superior sagittal sinus, and a dysgenetic tentorium with a concomitant abnormal venous drainage pattern were found in association with a large dorsal cyst. Repair of the anomaly was undertaken on the 3rd postnatal day. A cerebrospinal fluid shunt was required to treat hydrocephalus on Day 30. The child is well at age 3 years, but with significant developmental delay. The pathogenesis of this vertex cephalocele relates to semilobar holoprosencephaly and dorsal cyst formation. In addition, a disturbance in the separation of the diencephalic portion of the neural tube from the surface ectoderm or skin during the final phases of neurulation had occurred to help create the large cephalocele. Detailed preoperative imaging studies and awareness of the embryology and anatomy of this lesion facilitated the repair of the cephalocele. The prognosis of the child is determined not only by the presence of hydrocephalus, but also by the number of associated major cerebral anomalies. Options for treatment are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.54294617972442keywords = cerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/1406. A surgical method for treating anterior skull base injuries.skull base surgery was performed on 18 patients with anterior skull base injuries. The operative technique consisted of opening the operative field in the anterior skull base via a coronal incision and a frontal craniotomy, debridement of the anterior skull base including the injured dura mater, performing drainage from the anterior skull base to the nasal cavity by ethmoidectomy, and reconstructing the resulting dural and anterior skull base defect using bilateral temporal musculo-pericranial flaps and a bone graft. Seventeen of the 18 patients recovered without any complications, although epidural abscesses in the anterior skull base had been present in four patients at the time of the operation. Only one patient developed an epidural abscess in the anterior skull base after the operation. None of the patients developed any other complications including meningitis, recurrent liquorrhoea or cerebral herniation. Satisfactory aesthetic results were achieved in 16 of the 18 patients. In one patient, uneven deformity of the forehead, which was caused by the partial sequestration of the frontal bone due to postoperative infection, was observed. In another patient, a depressed deformity of the forehead, which was caused by the partial loss of the frontalis muscle following the use of the frontal musculo-pericranial flap instead of a temporal musculo-pericranial flap, was observed. Anterior skull base reconstruction using bilateral temporal musculo-pericranial flaps provides excellent results in terms of patient recovery and aesthetics.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.27147308986221keywords = cerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/1406. Transient mutism resolving into cerebellar speech after brain stem infarction following a traumatic injury of the vertebral artery in a child.A 3.7-year-old girl presented with an anterior neck injury followed by progressive subcutaneous emphysema and loss of consciousness. After resuscitation, a laceration on the first tracheal cartilage was closed surgically. As she was extubated one week later, she was found to have right hemiplegia and muteness. MRI showed a T2-bright lesion on the tegmentum of the left midbrain down to the upper pons. Right vertebral angiography disclosed an intimal flap with stenosis at the C3 vertebral level presumably caused by a fracture of the right C3 transverse process later confirmed in a cervical 3D-CT scan. Her muteness lasted for 10 days, after which she began to utter some comprehensible words in a dysarthric fashion. Her neurological deficits showed improvement within 3 months of her admission. Transient mutism after brain stem infarction has not been reported previously. We discuss the anatomical bases for this unusual reversible disorder in the light of previous observations and conclude that bilateral damage to the dentatothalamocortical fibers at the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncle may have been responsible for her transient mutism.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.014292355737393keywords = brain (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/1406. Complications of treatment: pulmonary embolism following craniotomy for meningioma.We present two case reports of patients who suffered a pulmonary embolism (PE) in the week following surgery for removal of a meningioma. Both patients were anticoagulated in the first week following surgery, and as a result, both suffered intracerebral bleeds requiring further surgery. An inferior vena caval (IVC) filter was then used in both patients to prevent further embolic events. Following our experience, we believe that it is dangerous to use intravenous anticoagulation within 6 days of cranial surgery for removal of a meningioma. We have reviewed the literature concerning the present guidelines for thromboembolic prophylaxis in patients requiring neurosurgery and believe that consideration of subcutaneous low-molecular-weight heparin should now be given to all patients requiring craniotomy for removal of a meningioma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.29804680149647keywords = cerebral, intracerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/1406. Three ventriculoplasty techniques applied to three left-ventricular pseudoaneurysms in the same patient.A 59-year-old male patient underwent surgery for triple-vessel coronary artery disease and left-ventricular aneurysm in 1994. Four months after coronary artery bypass grafting and classical left-ventricular aneurysmectomy (with Teflon felt strips), a left-ventricular pseudoaneurysm developed due to infection, and this was treated surgically with an autologous glutaraldehyde-treated pericardium patch over which an omental pedicle graft was placed. Two months later, under emergent conditions, re-repair was performed with a diaphragmatic pericardial pedicle graft due to pseudoaneurysm reformation and rupture. A 3rd repair was required in a 3rd episode 8 months later. Sternocostal resection enabled implantation of the left pectoralis major muscle into the ventricular defect. Six months after the last surgical intervention, the patient died of cerebral malignancy. Pseudoaneurysm reformation, however, had not been observed. To our knowledge, our case is the 1st reported in the literature in which there have been 3 or more different operative techniques applied to 3 or more distinct episodes of pseudoaneurysm formation secondary to post-aneurysmectomy infection. We propose that pectoral muscle flaps be strongly considered as a material for re-repair of left-ventricular aneurysms.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.27147308986221keywords = cerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/1406. movement disorders following nonfunctional neurosurgery.OBJECT: knowledge is scarce about movement disorders that follow neurosurgical operations other than functional stereotactic surgery. The cases of 14 patients who suffered from movement disorders secondary to craniocerebral or spinal surgery are analyzed. None of these patients was initially treated by any of the authors. methods: Twelve patients underwent surgery for cerebral diseases. Nine of these patients harbored tumors and three patients had neurovascular disorders. Two patients underwent spinal surgery for cervicothoracic ependymoma or for multiple cervical disc herniations. Twelve of the 14 patients had immediate postoperative side effects such as hemiparesis, ataxia, and somnolence. In all but two patients, movement disorders became manifest only after a delay. Dystonic movement disorders developed in eight patients, unilateral tremors in three patients, unilateral facial myokymia in one patient, and hemichorea-hemiballism in two patients. The mean delay of onset for tremor was 5 weeks and that for dystonic movement disorders was 5.5 months. movement disorders were transient in three patients; however, they were persistent in 11 patients at a mean follow-up period of 5 years. These movement disorders caused marked persistent disability in four patients. Lesions of the contralateral striatum were identified in patients with dystonic syndromes and lesions of the dentatothalamic outflow in patients with tremors. In three patients who had postoperative basal ganglia lesions after partial removal of astrocytomas, tumor regrowth was later documented. Medical treatment in patients with persistent movement disorders rendered only limited benefit. Two patients improved with botulin injections. In one patient postoperative hemidystonia was alleviated by contralateral thalamotomy. CONCLUSIONS: Dystonic syndromes and tremors are the most common movement disorders that occur after craniocerebral and spinal surgery. Postoperative movement disorders can lead to various degrees of functional disability. The pathoanatomical correlations are similar to those described in other patients with secondary movement disorders.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.81441926958663keywords = cerebral (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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