Predicting seizure outcomes and functional outcomes after hemispherotomy: are we any better?

INTRODUCTION: Present study attempted to analyze seizure freedom and detailed functional outcomes after functional hemispherotomy and utility of hemispherotomy outcome prediction scale (HOPS) scores in predicting outcomes. METHODS: Patients who underwent functional hemispherotomy were analyzed for clinical presentation, neuroimaging, seizure outcomes, and functional outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 76 procedures were performed on 69 patients. Mean age at the surgery was 8 ± 6.1 years. Fourteen patients were < 2 years. Age of onset epilepsy of the cohort was 2.0 ± 3.3 years. All had severe catastrophic epilepsy with multiple daily seizures. All patients had motor deficits with 36 (52%) patients had contralateral dysfunctional hand. Perinatal stroke (49%) was most common substrate followed by cortical malformations (21.7%). Eight patients had contralateral imaging abnormalities. Fifty-nine (86.76%) patients remained seizure free (Engle 1a) at 41 + -20.9 months. HOPS scores were available for 53 patients and lowest seizure outcome was 71% for HOPS score of 4. Lower HOPS scores predicted better seizure outcomes. Cortical malformations operated earlier than 2 years predicted poor seizure outcomes (66.6%). Positive functional outcomes are recorded in 80% of patients with 78% reporting improvement from the pre-surgical level. Five (7.2%) patients underwent shunt surgery. One mortality recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Hemispherotomy has excellent seizure outcomes. Early surgery in cortical malformations appears to be predictor of poorer seizure outcomes. HOPS score is a good tool to predict the seizure outcomes. Hemispherotomy is perceived to improve the Cognitive and functional performance.

Impact of intraoperative MRI on outcomes in epilepsy surgery: preliminary experience of two years.

PURPOSE: To determine the impact of intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) in epilepsy surgeries on the extent of surgical resection and seizure outcome along with its feasibility and limitations. METHODS: Patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy (PRE), who underwent surgeries in operating theater equipped with high-field 1.5-Tesla MRI, were evaluated for extent of resection, operative time, scanning time, pathologies, resultant extra resection, and seizure outcomes. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients with mean age of 18 (range: 3-65) years with PRE underwent surgical intervention. Mean duration of epilepsy was 10.2 years. Surgical interventions included tumor resection (31%), resection of focal cortical dysplasia (28%), mesial temporal lobe surgeries (18%), and disconnection surgeries (23%). iMRI alone, apart from navigation and electrophysiology, improved resection rates in 13% (5 out of 39) of these patients. In lesional group, iMRI modified operative strategy resulting in increased resections in 21% (5/23) patients. Complete resection was observed in 87% of patients. iMRI scanning time constituted 25% (mean: 72 ± 21 min) of time spent under anesthesia by the patient. Major and minor complications were observed in 2.5% and 7.5% of patients, respectively. The mean follow-up was 14 months. Favorable postoperative seizure control (Engel Classes I and II) was achieved in 85% and complete seizure freedom was achieved in 77% of patients (Engel Class IA) at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: iMRI increases the extent of resection mainly in lesional epilepsy surgeries translating into good seizure outcomes but not found to be much beneficial in prototype mesial temporal sclerosis surgeries and disconnection surgeries.

Post operative pituitary apoplexy: preoperative considerations toward preventing nightmare.

INTRODUCTION: Post operative pituitary apoplexy after partial resection of a giant pituitary adenoma is mostly fatal, despite early and best management. Pathophysiology, clinical presentation and preoperative consideration toward prevention of apoplexy are discussed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients with post operative pituitary apoplexy were critically reviewed for clinical presentation, endocrine status, preoperative imaging and post operative course with outcome. Operative findings and histopathology were correlated. RESULTS: Thirteen patients over 11 years with a mean age of 36 years were reviewed. All patients had giant pituitary adenomas. Four patients had functional adenomas. All patients were optimized for endocrine status before surgery. Twelve patients underwent transsphenoidal excision of the tumor. Only partial excision could be achieved in all cases. Deterioration of consciousness (9), visual deterioration (3), delayed reversal and excessive bleeding (1) were the primary indicators toward apoplexy. Ten patients were reexplored within 24 h of first surgery. All except one were explored transcranially a second time. Twelve patients died with variable post operative course. Hypothalamic dysfunction and dyselectolytemia (9) were leading causes of death, followed by meningitis and raised intracranial pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Post operative pituitary apoplexy is associated with high mortality, despite early and best management. Partial resection of the giant pituitary adenoma is directly responsible for post operative apoplexy. Maximum possible resection of the tumor by suitable exposure should be the optimal goal of surgery. Surgical exposure, either transcranial or transsphenoidal, should be dictated by tumor configuration on preoperative imaging. Endocrine status, histology of the tumor and clinical presentation do not appear to contribute to post operative pituitary apoplexy.

Clinical profile and outcomes of epilepsy surgery in children from a tertiary epilepsy care center in India.

INTRODUCTION: The present study aims to describe epilepsy surgery outcomes in the pediatric population from a tertiary center in India. METHODOLOGY: Children less than 18 years who underwent epilepsy surgery between June 2015 and December 2019 for whom at least a 1-year follow-up was available, were retrospectively evaluated for clinical presentation, radiology, surgical intervention, and seizure outcomes. OBSERVATIONS: Out of a total of 355 epilepsy surgeries performed, 242 were in the pediatric group (140 males, 80 females). The mean age at surgery was 9.4 years ±4.8 years (range 4 months-18 years). The mean duration of epilepsy was 5.64 years ±3.91 (range 2 months-17 years). 126 patients experienced daily seizures, 45 weekly and 39 reported monthly seizures. Six had refractory status epilepticus. All the patients were on multiple anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs): the mean number of AEDs was 3.27 ± 0.98 (range 2-7 AEDs). Focal seizure was the most common seizure type seen in 72.27% of children (159/220). The most frequent etiology was focal cortical dysplasia (70), followed by bilateral parieto-temporo-occipital gliosis (48). All the patients underwent standard pre-surgical evaluation. Eleven patients needed stage 2 evaluation (intracranial EEG). The different surgeries performed were electrocorticography (ECOG) and navigation-guided resection (65), anterior temporal lobectomy and hippocampectomy (ATLAH) (48), functional hemispherotomy (39), callosotomy (28), disconnection surgeries (16), and multilobar resection (12). Twelve patients underwent more than one surgery. The patients were followed up between a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 66 months (median 32 months; IQR 20 months). Engel class 1 outcome was observed in 81.38% in definitive surgeries. Outcomes of temporal lobe (TL) surgeries (92.3%) were better compared to hemispheric (87.17%) and extratemporal lobe (ETL) surgeries (75.32%). We encountered unexpected transient motor deficits in 2 patients and culture-proven meningitis in 8 patients. Post-surgery drug freedom (P-value 0.003) was the most important factor for better developmental, cognitive and behavioral outcomes. CONCLUSION: Epilepsy surgeries are safe and seizure outcomes are excellent in properly selected cases with thorough presurgical evaluation. Early referral to a tertiary epilepsy center is needed for timely intervention.

Surgical outcomes for medically refractory epilepsy secondary to posterior cortex ulegyria as sequelae of perinatal insults.

BACKGROUND: To study surgical outcomes in pharmaco-resistant epilepsy associated with posterior cortex ulegyria secondary to perinatal insults. METHODS: A cohort was analysed for clinico-radiological charectaristics, surgical interventions and seizure outcomes. OBSERVATIONS: A total of 38 patients underwent surgery, divided as group A - curative surgeries (n = 20) and group B - palliative surgeries (n = 18). Mean age of onset of epilepsy in group A was 5.2 ± 3.4 years against 2.7 ± 2.4 years in group B (p < 0.01). Electroclinical Lennox Gastaut Syndrome was encountered in 9/20 patients in group A, against all 18 patients in group B. Disabling reflex epilepsy was seen in 10 (26 %) patients. Interictal electrophysiology localized in the posterior cortex in all patients in group A, but ictal onsets contributed in only 7/20 patients. Nine patients from group A had unilateral parieto-occipital ulegyria while bilateral in 11/20 patients, and 16/18 from group B. Group A patients underwent parieto-occipital resection (n = 10) and temporo-parieto-occipital disconnection (n = 10) while group B underwent complete corpus callosotomy (n = 18). In group A, Engel Ia outcome was achieved in 15/20 patients (75 %) at mean follow up of 23.5 ± 7.9 months. Group B patients experienced cessation of head drops in all 18 patients, with two-third reduction in seizure frequency at 29.2± 12.4 months of mean follow up. Reflex seizures responded completely in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Epilepsy surgeries for posterior cortex ulegyria results in excellent seizure outcomes. Corpus callosotomy appears highly effective as a palliation for head drop as well as disabling reflex seizures in a well selected cohort.

Failed Hemispherotomy: Insights from Our Early Experience in 40 Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To study the factors responsible for failure of hemispherotomy and outcomes of revision surgery. The effect of the surgeon's learning curve on failures was also analyzed. METHODS: Forty consecutive patients, who underwent functional hemispherotomy through a 4-year period, from the inception of the single-surgeon epilepsy surgery program, were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 47 functional hemispherotomies were performed in the study period in 40 patients (7 revision surgeries on 6 patients). Mean age of the cohort was 9.45 ± 14.84 years and it included 7 infants (<2 years). Of the 9 patients (23.5%) who failed the first procedure, 6 qualified for revision surgery, all of whom belonged to the cohort of the first 15 patients treated during the first 2 years of the program. Hemimegalencephaly was the most common disease (n = 4). Ipsilateral temporal stem (n = 3), frontobasal connections (n = 2), splenium of corpus callosum (n = 2), and posterior insula (n = 2) were residual undisconnected substrates identified for revision on imaging. The substrates for failure were obvious in 5/6 patients and resulted from incomplete disconnection, implying surgical inadequacy. At the mean follow-up of 30 ± 13.17 months (range, 13-55 months), 35 of 40 patients (87.5%) remained seizure free (Engel class Ia), including 4/6 patients who underwent redo surgery. Revision did not benefit the remaining 2 patients (Engel class III). There was no mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical revision is more common in hemimegalencephaly and in the early days of a surgical program. Affirmative neuroimaging improves the outcomes of subsequent revision surgery.

Outcome of pediatric patients with traumatic basal ganglia hematoma: analysis of 21 cases.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the outcome of a pediatric population with traumatic basal ganglia hematoma (TBGH). METHODOLOGY: Patients < 15 years of age with TBGH were studied for mode of injury, severity of injury on admission, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score on admission, radiology, intervention and overall outcome. OBSERVATIONS: Twenty-one patients (male:female = 4:1) with a mean age of 7.2 ± 3.7 years (range 0.33-15 years) were studied. High-velocity trauma (52%) followed by fall from height (38%) were the leading causes. Seventy-six percent of the patients had severe head injury. The mean GCS score on admission was 6.0 ± 2.5 (range 3-12), while the mean GCS score of the group with severe head injury was 4.81 ± 1.7 (range 3-7). Eleven (52.4%) patients had isolated basal ganglia hematoma while 10 (47.6%) had other associated intracranial injuries. Only 3 patients required surgical interventions. Eleven patients (52.4%) expired during their hospital stay. At discharge, 9 (42.9%) had a poor, nonfunctional outcome (Glasgow outcome scale, GOS 2, 3). CONCLUSION: The severity of head injuries and GCS score on admission mainly determined the ultimate outcome in pediatric TBGH. The mode of injury or associated intracranial injuries did not change the outcome. The presence of TBGH in severely head-injured patients worsens the prognosis and outcome.

Can radiation induce pituitary tumors? Giant prolactinoma after radiation exposure.

Radiation is a well-known etiology for many CNS tumors, including meningiomas, sarcomas and gliomas. However, occurrence of pituitary adenoma after radiation exposure is rare. We report a 21-year-old man with a pituitary adenoma, who was treated with post-operative radiotherapy for pontine glioma at 6 years of age. The role of radiation exposure in the etiology of pituitary adenoma is discussed, along with a literature review of radiation-induced tumors.

Endoscopic-Assisted (Through a Mini Craniotomy) Corpus Callosotomy Combined With Anterior, Hippocampal, and Posterior Commissurotomy in Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome: A Pilot Study to Establish Its Safety and Efficacy.

BACKGROUND: Corpus callosotomy is a palliative procedure especially for Lennox-Gastaut semiology without localization with drop attacks. OBJECTIVE: To describe endoscopic-assisted complete corpus callosotomy combined with anterior, hippocampal, and posterior commissurotomy. METHODS: Patients with drug refractory epilepsy having drop attacks as the predominant seizure type, bilateral abnormalities on imaging, and moderate to severe mental retardation were included. All underwent a complete workup (including magnetic resonance imaging). RESULTS: Patients (n = 16, mean age 11.4 ± 6.4 years, range 6-19 years) had a mean seizure frequency of 24.5 ± 19.8/days (range 1-60) and a mean intelligence quotient of 25.23 ± 10.71. All had syndromic diagnosis of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, with the following etiologies: hypoxic insult (10), lissencephaly (2), bilateral band heterotropia (2), and microgyria and pachygyria (2). Surgery included complete callosotomy and the section of anterior and posterior commissure by microscopic approach through a mini craniotomy (11) and endoscopic-assisted approach (5). Complications included meningitis (1), hyperammonemic encephalopathy (2), and acute transient disconnection (5). There was no mortality or long-term morbidity. Mean follow-up was 18 ± 4.7 months (range 16-27 months). Drop attacks stopped in all. Seizure frequency/duration decreased >90% in 10 patients and >50% in 5 patients, and increased in 1 patient. All patients attained presurgical functional levels in 3 to 6 months. Child behavior checklist scores showed no deterioration. Parental questionnaires reported 90% satisfaction attributed to the control of drop attacks. The series was compared retrospectively with an age/sex-matched cohort (where a callosotomy only was performed), and showed better outcome for drop attacks (P < .003). CONCLUSION: This preliminary study demonstrated the efficacy and safety of complete callosotomy with anterior, hippocampal, and posterior commissurotomy in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (drop attacks) with moderate to severe mental retardation.

Role of bone marrow derived pluripotent stem cells in peripheral nerve repair in adult rats: A morphometric evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: Semi-quantitative and quantitative assessment of the effect of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BM-MNC) on early and late phase of nerve regeneration in rat sciatic nerve model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sciatic nerve transection and repair was performed in 50 inbred female Wistar albino rats divided equally in two groups. In the test group the gap was filled with BM-MNCs obtained from the two male rats and fibrin sealant, while in the control group only fibrin sealant was used. Sciatic nerve was harvested at 15 days and at 60 days interval. Parameters of regeneration were assessed at anastomosis (G), intermediate distal (C), and distal site (A). Semi-quantitative (histopathological) and quantitative (morphometric) parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: At 15 days there was a statistically significant difference found in mean axon diameter, mean nerve thickness and myelin thickness at the repair site (P < 0.05). However, in the distal areas, the axons were sparse and myelin rings were very thin in both the groups. At 60 days, the difference in above-mentioned parameters was statistically significant at the distal most sites. FISH assay confirmed the presence of Y chromosome, confirming the presence of BM-MNCs from the male rats. CONCLUSIONS: Transplanting BM-MNCS at the site of peripheral nerve injury leads to significantly better recovery. These differences were evident at the repair site and at the intermediate distal site at 15 days and at the distal most sites at 60 days. With practically no ethical issue regarding their isolation and application, they can be easily used for clinical trials.

Predictive factors for early symptomatic recurrence in pilocytic astrocytoma: does angiogenesis have a role to play?

We studied predictive factors with respect to angiogenesis and proliferative indices for early symptomatic recurrences in patients with pilocytic astrocytoma (PA). One hundred and eighteen patients who underwent surgery for PA were divided into non-recurrent and early symptomatic recurrence groups to analyze clinicoradiological and immunohistopathological (n=33) parameters. Patients with non-recurrent tumors presented with symptoms for a mean duration of 10.2 ± 9.1 months while those with recurrent tumors presented slightly earlier (6.9 ± 4.5 months). Common tumor locations were the cerebellum (38.1%), optic chiasm (27.9%), supratentorial region (19.4%) and brainstem (9.3%). Recurrent tumors were mostly located in the cerebellum (44%) and brainstem (33%). Strong contrast enhancement was noted in 70 (59.3%) tumors, while 48 (40.7%) showed poor contrast. Resection was complete in 53% of patients while near total excision was achieved for the remaining patients. Cellularity and pleomorphism were similar in both groups. Extensive endothelial proliferation was observed in 18.1% of patients while the remainder showed a focal pattern. Diffuse vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was observed in 36.3% of patients while 63.6% showed mild-to-moderate focal expression. Endothelial proliferation and VEGF expression were more pronounced in patients with non-recurrent tumors, but this was not statistically significant. MIB-I labeling indices were similar (1-5%) for both groups. Symptomatic recurrences were common in infratentorial PAs. Radiology, histopathology and proliferative indices did not offer any prognostic information. Angiogenesis markers such as endothelial proliferation and VEFG expression did not predict early symptomatic recurrence. Diffuse VEGF expression and endothelial proliferation were observed in tumors that showed strong contrast enhancement.