[Progressive Brown-Sequard syndrome secondary to idiopathic spinal cord herniation: clinico-radiological and surgical correlations]. / Síndrome de Brown-Séquard progresivo secundario a hernia medular idiopática: correlación clinicorradiológica y quirúrgica.

INTRODUCTION: Idiopathic medullary herniation is an infrequent disease, which shows up in clinical form as a progressive mielopathy, most commonly known as the Brown-Sequard syndrome. Its anatomical base is a dural defect where a portion of anterior spinal cord gets progressively incarcerated. The MRI and myelo-CT scan show a bending of the spinal cord in the form of a «bell tent¼ towards the anterior dural sheath at the mid-dorsal portion mainly. CASE REPORT: A 37 year old male, who was diagnosed of idiopathic medullary herniation and surgically treated by our own developed technique, reporting its neuroradiological, anatomo-surgical and clinical correlation. CONCLUSION: Treatment should be individualized, as no standard surgical technique has been established up to the present.

TITLE: Síndrome de Brown-Séquard progresivo secundario a hernia medular idiopática: correlación clinicorradiológica y quirúrgica.Introducción. La hernia medular idiopática es una patología infrecuente que cursa clínicamente con una mielopatía progresiva, la mayoría de las ocasiones en forma de síndrome de Brown-Séquard. Su base anatómica es un defecto dural por el que se incarcera progresivamente una porción del cordón medular anterior. La resonancia magnética y la mielotomografía demuestran un acodamiento medular en «tienda de campaña¼ hacia la cara anterior del estuche dural, a nivel dorsal medio fundamentalmente. Caso clínico. Varón de 37 años, diagnosticado de hernia medular idiopática e intervenido quirúrgicamente mediante una técnica propia; se demuestra su correlación neurorradiológica, anatomoquirúrgica y evolutiva. Conclusión. El tratamiento debe ser individualizado, pues no existe una técnica quirúrgica universalmente establecida.

Fisher one-and-a-half syndrome due to a bulb protuberance cavernoma. / Síndrome del uno y medio de Fisher a causa de un cavernoma bulbo-protuberancial.

The one and a half Fisher syndrome is produced by an unilateral lesion in the dorsal and inferior part of the pons located specifically in the pontine tegmentum. This is an area that contains the medial longitudinal fasciculus (LMF), the paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF) and the nucleus of the sixth cranial nerve, responsible for the horizontal movements of the gaze. Clinically it manifests with conjugate gaze palsy with internuclear ophthalmoplegia. The case is reported on a 60 year-old patient, who presented with binocular diplopia, ophthalmoplegia and paralysis of the gaze conjugated to the left. Imaging studies were performed that showed a hemi-protuberant haematoma secondary to a cavernoma. As expected, he presented with several episodes of re-bleeding with clinical worsening: headache, diplopia, tetraparesis, and hypoaesthesia in the right side of the face, as such that the microsurgical exeresis of the protuberant cavernoma was considered.

[Transoral decompression of the brain stem in a basilar impression secondary to rheumatoid arthritis. Description of a case and survey of the literature]. / Descompresion transoral del tronco cerebral en una impresion basilar secundaria a artritis reumatoidea. Descripcion de un caso y revision de la bibliografia.

INTRODUCTION: The vertical subluxation or translocation of the odontoid process producing a basilar impression with compression of the brain stem is a late phenomenon in the course of rheumatoid arthritis; the appearance of symptoms in the spinal cord and the lower pairs of spinal nerves is a specific sign of this disorder. In this situation, the standard surgical aims are the decompression of the affected nerve structures followed by craniocervical stabilisation. The objective of this paper is to report on the improvement of the neurological deficit after decompressive transoral surgery (odontoidectomy), without associating any internal fixation system, in a female patient with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis and anterior compression of the brain stem caused by basilar impression and rheumatoid pannus. A survey of the literature showed that, with the odd isolated clinical case, there are no papers which describe the post operative development of surgical decompression of the brain stem carried out through an anterior approach in patients with rheumatoid subluxation of the odontoid process, without associating any internal stabilisation system. CASE REPORT: Female aged 65, diagnosed as suffering from rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 25, who was admitted with symptoms of compression of the medulla oblongata secondary to a vertical subluxation of the odontoid process. She was submitted to transoral decompression of the brain stem (odontoidectomy and removal of pannus without posterior fixation), and made surprisingly favourable post operative progress. At 15 months after the surgical decompression she led an independent life. CONCLUSIONS: The neurological improvement of our patient after the decompressive odontoidectomy suggests that the mechanical compression of the odontoid process with impaction of the brain stem was the predominant aetiological factor causing the symptoms in the medulla oblongata. Her clinical stabilisation, on the other hand, can be explained by a mechanism involving the spontaneous autofusion of the lateral masses of the atlas with the occipital condyle and with the axis. Lastly, we consider that, in certain cases of rheumatoid patients with atlantoaxial subluxation, impaction of the odontoid process in the foramen magnum and clinical features involving compression of the medulla oblongata, transoral decompression of the brain stem through an odontoidectomy is the choice initial surgical procedure, since it affords neurological improvement and clinical stabilisation. In any case, a strict neurological and radiological post operative follow up is needed in view of a possible craniocervical fixation occurring in the future.

[Spontaneous syncope as the only sign of Arnold-Chiari type I malformations]. / Síncope espontáneo como único síntoma de la malformación de Arnold-Chiari tipo I. Base fisiopatológica.

We present a patient suffering from spontaneous recurrent syncopes as the sole symptom of Arnold-Chiari type I malformation. The syncopes were attributed to transient compression of neural and/or vascular structures at the cranio-cervical junction by the descended cerebellar tonsils, triggered by an increase in intracranial pressure. The disappearance of symptoms after posterior fossa decompression confirmed our hypothesis.

[Spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma. Apropos of a case]. / L'hématome épidural cervical spontané. A propos d'un cas.

We report one case of spinal epidural hematoma located in the cervical area, so-called spontaneous because this unknown etiology, extended over C3-C6, diagnosed by Computed Tomography, with complete recovery after surgical treatment accomplished 36 hours after the onset of symptoms. The clinical picture is characterized by sudden onset of severe cervical or interscapular pain, associated with radicular radiation into the upper extremities, followed by development of progressive signs of spinal cord compression with varying degree of motor and sensory paralysis. We emphasized the importance of an early diagnosis, easily possible with Computed Tomography. The CT findings are similar to intracranial acute epidural hematoma: showing a characteristic hyperdense lenticular collection, typically localized in the dorsolateral spinal epidural space. Computed Tomography appears to be the procedure of choice for preoperative diagnosis and for postoperative control. The surgical indication is absolute.