Bilateral Central Foot Drop in a Pediatric Patient.

Foot drop is an inability to dorsiflex the ankle and toe. Primary causes of foot drop are compression or lesion of the 5th lumbar nerve and entrapment of the peroneal nerve at the head of the fibula. Rarely, some central nervous system lesions lead to foot drop. A 16-year-old boy was admitted with blunt head trauma that had happened in an assault. The muscle strength of the bilateral tibialis anterior, bilateral extensor digitorum longus and bilateral extensor digitorum brevis were Medical Research Council grade 1. Deep tendon reflexes of both ankles were hyperactive, with bilateral clonus and bilateral Babinski sign. There were cerebral contusions with peripheral edema in both motor strip areas extending anteriorly into the frontal lobes, with right-sided epidural-subdural hematoma. On brain MRI, the superior sagittal sinus was open. The epidural-subdural hematoma did not progress in its dimensions. The patient was treated conservatively. He recovered fully with regression of the contusions and epidural-subdural hematoma 4 months after the trauma. Foot drop due to upper motor neuron pathologies is more spastic in nature, different from what happens following lumbar disc herniation or peroneal nerve dysfunction. Treatment of central foot drop should be planned according to the underlying pathology.

Pain control following posterior spine fusion: patient-controlled continuous epidural catheter infusion method yields better post-operative analgesia control compared to intravenous patient controlled analgesia method. A retrospective case series.

PURPOSE: Pain management following posterior spinal fusion surgeries is a challenging topic. Continuous epidural analgesia (CEA) technique has been invented to resolve some deleterious effects related with conventional intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) method. However, studies for effectiveness and safety of CEA are scarce in adult population. Our aim was to compare effectiveness and safety of patient-controlled CEA with conventional IV-PCA method in adult patient population. METHODS: Chart review of patients, scheduled for elective posterior spine fusion to treat spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis or spinal instability from May 2012 to March 2015, was performed. Patients with spinal infection, cancer, inflammatory disease, and ASA higher than class III, allergy to analgesic medications were excluded from the study. One hundred and nine patients were enrolled into the study. 80 out of 109 patients (40 in CEA group, 40 in IV-PCA group) were matched for age, gender, BMI, type of surgery, level of fusions. Visual Analog Scale scores (VAS) and Ramsay Sedation Scale (RSS) scores were evaluated following surgeries until post-operative 24th hour. RESULTS: There were 58 female patients (72.5 %). The mean age of the patients was 59.85 years (range 24-82 years). When VAS and RSS scores were compared between the groups, there were statistically significant differences between the groups in respect of VAS scores at every time point following surgery (lower in CEA group), whereas there was no significant difference between the groups in respect of RSS scores. More additional analgesia medication was needed in IV-PCA group (16 vs. 5 patients), which was significantly higher than CEA group (p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: Patient-controlled CEA method is as safe as IV-PCA method and is even more effective than that in controlling immediate post-operative pain in patients treated with posterior spinal fusion.

An ioMRI-assisted case of cervical intramedullary diffuse glioma resection.

PURPOSE: To date, application of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (ioMRI) to enhance surgical quality for spinal intramedullary neoplastic lesions has been rarely reported. Moreover, in developing countries or regions, ioMRI accessibility remains very limited. This report describes a technology design of high-field ioMRI accessible for multioperation rooms via a case presentation of an imaging-assisted surgical excision of human cervical spinal cord diffuse glioma. PATIENT AND METHODS: The patient was a 44-year-old woman with symptomatic and progressive C2-5 intramedullary diffuse glioma (IDG). Our ioMRI system was designed and arranged with accessibility to multiple operation rooms, which was used to assure more complete spinal cord or brain tumor removal. The intraoperational diagnostic aspects and the system setup technical details are presented for future applications of the system in hospitals where a designated ioMRI suite is not available. RESULTS: After a conventionally defined complete removal of C2-C5 IDG using a well-established surgical approach, ioMRI examination was able to detect residual tumor tissues that were indistinguishable under the surgical microscope. The IDG clusters were subsequently excised. The operation regimen resulted in a gross total elimination of the tumor, which enabled the patient to show very satisfactory postsurgery recovery and prognosis. CONCLUSION: ioMRI-assisted surgical removal of cervical spinal cord diffuse glioma should be systematically developed and applied to enhance therapeutic efficacy. The reported logistic flow of operating room tasks and imaging technical management are innovative for performing the tumor removal procedures in hospitals where designated ioMRI surgical suites do not exist. Critically, we emphasize implementation of stringent quality control measures for patient transportation safety and contamination prevention in establishing and maintaining such a system.

Extraanatomical coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with severely atherosclerotic (Porcelain) aorta.

BACKGROUND: Cannulation, cross clamping, or partial clamping of the aorta during a proximal anastomosis may cause embolic complications in patients with severely atherosclerotic (porcelain) aortas. These patients carry high morbidity and mortality risks due to intraoperative atheroembolism. METHODS: Between June 2008 and May 2010, 972 open heart surgery operations were performed in our department. In this group there were 41 patients who had severe atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta (porcelain aorta), and 9 of these underwent an extraanatomical coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). These 9 patients were retrospectively analyzed and their demographic data, patient risk factors, and preferred surgical methods were reviewed. RESULTS: Seven patients underwent two-vessel CABG, while 2 underwent three-vessel CABG. Off-pump surgery was performed for 7 patients. CABG was performed with beating heart technique under cardiopulmonary bypass via femoral artery and right atrial cannulation without cross clamping in 2 of the patients. Postoperative course was uneventful in all patients. Mean length of stay in the intensive care unit was 2.11 ± 0.78 days. Mean hospitalization was 7.22 ± 0.97 days. Mean follow-up was 11.33 ± 3.67 months, and no cerebrovascular events were observed during this period. Postoperative evaluation of the grafts by multislice computed tomography revealed sufficient patency in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: Innominate artery is an alternative inflow source for the untouchable ascending aorta caused by severe atherosclerotic disease (porcelain aorta). In this group of patients, the risk of systemic embolisation and perioperative neurologic complications can be minimized by avoiding manipulation of the ascending aorta and using the innominate artery.