Ocular manifestations of sphenoid mucoceles: clinical features and neurosurgical management of three cases and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Sphenoid mucoceles (SMCs) are unusual lesions, with about 130 cases reported in the literature. Although benign, they may involve the orbit and cause acute restrictive ophthalmoplegia, proptosis, and reduced visual acuity. METHODS AND RESULTS: We present three cases (1 male, 2 females, aged 35, 36, and 46 years) of orbital involvement with acute decreased visual acuity by SMC. The lesions were promptly excised via a transnasal approach to decompress the optic nerve. After the decompression, the patients recovered completely. CONCLUSION: We believe that immediate surgical drainage of the SMC and prolonged antibiotic therapy are necessary and resulted in recovery of visual acuity. Prompt microsurgical transsphenoidal decompression is simple, effective, safe, and is necessary for avoiding persistent visual loss. Antibiotic therapy alone usually results in a poor outcome. We discuss the etiology, clinical manifestations, and management of this rare condition in the light of 130 other cases in the literature.

Gliomatosis cerebri: intra vitam stereotactic determination in two cases and review of the literature.

Gliomatosis cerebri (GC) is an infiltrative neoplastic process that is diffusely distributed through neural structures, whose anatomical configuration remains intact. Most of the cases with GC reported in the literature were diagnosed at autopsy (101/110, 92%). We report two cases of GC in a 42-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man. The diagnosis was confirmed neuropathologically after MRI-guided stereoetactic biopsy. External radiation therapy was performed and led to a complete recovery of all clinical signs. Follow-up examinations 17 and 21 months after diagnosis showed permanent reversal of all clinical and radiological signs. MRI should be used as a primary imaging study in the evaluation of GC and for the determination of the target points for stereotactic biopsy. We discuss the aetiology, clinical manifestation, difficulties of intra vitam diagnosis, and management of this rare condition in the light of other 110 (101 postmortem and nine intra vitam) reported cases of GC in the literature.

The value of intraoperative angiography in surgery of intracranial aneurysms: a prospective study in 126 patients.

The value of intraoperative digital subtraction angiography in surgery for intracranial aneurysms, the benefits and cost-effectiveness are a matter of discussion. We prospectively studied 126 patients with 144 aneurysms, most on the anterior intracranial circulation, who underwent clipping and intraoperative angiography. Follow-up was 28.4 +/- 13.1 months. We tried to work out the indications for intraoperative angiography of the anterior circulation and its cost-effectiveness. In 10.3 % of patients (9 % per aneurysm) unexpected findings were shown by intraoperative angiography: inadequately clipped aneurysms in 10 (7.9 %), a completely unclipped aneurysm in one (0.8 %) and occluded major arteries in two (1.6 %). A broad neck was a variable of statistical significance for inadequate clipping or stenosis or occlusion of an adjacent vessel. There was a strong trend for aneurysms more than 15 mm in diameter to be "risky". Their site was not a predictive factor. We believe that intraoperative angiography is indicated in surgery not only on large and giant aneurysms, but also broad-based aneurysms of the anterior cerebral circulation regardless of their size. It is cost-effective compared to postoperative angiography. The rate of stroke in our hands was 0.8%.

[Acupuncture and other forms of treatment for patients with chronic back pain]. / Akupuntur und andere Therapieformen beim Patienten mit chronischen Wirbelsäulenschmerzen.

As in all pain sites, one has to distinguish between acute and chronic pain in spinal pain syndromes. The treatment of chronic spinal pain is dominated by non-operative procedures. There are three main procedures in this field of treatment: the manual medicine, the therapeutic application of local anesthetics and acupuncture. By manual techniques the pain-producing spinal structures can be recognized and these techniques offer at the same time sufficient treatment options to the patients. Therefore, manual therapeutic strategies are applied at first in a treatment session followed by the therapeutical application of local anesthetics. With this treatment the pain-producing spinal sites are directly influenced with the aim of blocking the nociceptors. Acupuncture is the last step of the treatment cascade in out patients in any case, because acupuncture does not only serve as treatment option for pain relief, but also and even more so has an harmonizing effect upon physical and psychological disturbances. It is absolutely necessary for the patient to lie down for 25 to 30 minutes to reach these goals. More invasive methods are offered to patients unsuccessfully treated by the described methods. These are: X-ray conducted periradicular infiltration, epidural blockades with local anesthetics and steroids, hiatus sacralis blockade, percutaneous radiofrequency denervation of the facet joint and percutaneous lumbar radiofrequency sympathicotomy. The indications for these treatment modalities are discussed as well as technical details regarding the performance. Disc herniation with radicular symptoms, spinal canal stenosis, cervical stenotic myelopathy and degenerative spinal instability may represent indications for surgical intervention. The symptomatology of these diseases is described. The indications for the individual cases and circumstances are discussed. Lastly, the various operative techniques are also described shortly.

Posterior cervical foraminotomy. A follow-up study of 67 surgically treated patients with compressive radiculopathy.

A retrospective study was conducted on 67 patients undergoing posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF) for unilateral intraforaminal soft and hard disc disease. Neurologic impairment, employment, and severity of associated signs were assessed preoperatively and at a 3.1-year average follow-up (range, 1.5-7 years). Diminution or complete disappearance of radicular symptoms was observed in 62 cases (93%), 3 months to 3 years after surgery. Minimal neurologic deficits persisted in 5 cases (7%). Neck pain improved in 62 cases, remained unchanged in three, and progressed in two cases with severe preoperative deficits. Fifty-three patients (79%) returned to their previous occupation; only seven (10%) retired prematurely on the basis of disc disease alone. Based on Prolo's functional economic outcome rating scale, 60 patients (90%) showed excellent economic outcome. Posterior cervical foraminotomy is an efficient means of decompressing lateral spinal roots compromised by soft disk herniations or osteophytic spurs, without the risk of an anterior approach with or without fusion. Careful patient selection and microsurgical technique are essential in obtaining consistent, excellent results. Additionally, the recent trend toward minimally invasive techniques and key-hole operations in neurosurgery and other specialisations favours the posterior approach.

Malignant prolactinoma: case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Malignant prolactinomas are rare events. To date, only 14 patients with metastases in- or outside the central nervous system have been reported. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present a patient who developed a metastasis to the cauda equina, which is the first case documented with MRI. A giant prolactinoma in this 51-year-old man was partially removed by a transcranial approach. After radiotherapy and treatment with bromocriptine, the patient had a remission for 3 years. Thereafter, a sacral intraspinal tumor was diagnosed. Because of increasing prolactin levels not responding to bromocriptine and a radiologically suspected intrasellar tumor, we operated transsphenoidally first and found only fibrous tissue. We performed a sacral laminectomy and almost totally removed an intradural tumor. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of a prolactinoma metastasis. The patient received radiotherapy and bromocriptine and has no evidence of recurrent tumor or metastases after a follow-up of 38 months, thus being the second reported patient with long-term remission of the disease. DISCUSSION: We review the literature on this topic and try to establish common features of the course of this rare malignant disease and the efficacy of therapy in the cases reported hitherto.

[Supratentorial glioma: analysis of clinical and temporal parameters in 163 cases]. / Supratentorielle Gliome: Analyse klinischer und zeitlicher Parameter in 163 Fällen.

163 cases of supratentorial astrocytomas and glioblastomas were evaluated retrospectively after close-meshed observation and treatment. We attached the greatest importance to the reevaluation of already known prognostic parameters and to the temporal analysis of the course of gliomas. We could confirm the influence of the histologic grade on the survival time. Histologic grading by means of immunohistochemistry proved to be more precise than grading only by means of HE staining. Furthermore, the patient's age was one of the most important prognostic variables for survival time after operation. Other factors were the first preoperative Karnofsky rating, the preoperative diameter of the tumour, the duration of preoperative symptoms and the interval between operation and diagnosis of tumour recurrence as well as between tumour recurrence and reoperation. Epileptic seizures as preoperative symptoms were found to be far less prognostic for survival time. Localisation of the tumour, other preoperative symptoms, Karnofsky rating before reoperation and the extent of tumour resection proved to be of no importance for survival time.

Development of supratentorial astrocytomas.

Six cases of supratentorial astrocytomas are presented in this study in order to demonstrate the typical development of this kind of tumors. All patients were controlled regularly by CT scan. Five of them were operated two times, one patient three times. The tumor growth was quite similar in all cases. Time interval between the first intervention and tumor recurrence was larger than between second intervention and tumor recurrence. In all cases the tumors tended to "explosive" growth after the second operation. There are discussed pros and cons of an early reintervention after tumor recurrence.

Somatosensory and auditory brainstem evoked potentials during choroid plexus angioma removal.

Intraoperative combined SEP and BAEP monitoring provides a high level of safety for patients undergoing high risk intracranial surgical procedures. We performed this type of monitoring in a rare case of choroid plexus angioma, embedded into the pulvinar of the right thalamus, which was resected via a transcallosal approach. The SEP pattern deteriorated during parietal brain retraction and thalamic dissection, but never completely disappeared. The BAEP pattern remained unchanged during the entire operation. The patient suffered incomplete hemiparesis postoperatively, but recovered completely within 10 days. After this time the SEP pattern returned to normal. This case points out that pathological change of intraoperative SEP pattern without loss of components suggests an incomplete hemiparesis. There is, however, a good chance of full recovery in the early postoperative period.

[Percutaneous lumbar thermal sympathectomy: method, indications and results]. / Perkutane lumbale thermale Sympathektomie: Methode, Indikationen und Ergebnisse.

Thermal lumbar sympathectomy has been the method of choice since the 'eighties in the treatment of reflex dystrophy. We are using this method since January 1990. First results are presented and critically analysed. 15 patients who underwent thermal lumbar sympathectomy were examined and interviewed 1 year after treatment. 7 patients reported persisting pain relief, while the remaining 8 did not.

Clinical and electrodiagnostic findings, nerve biopsy and blood group markers in a family with hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies.

Clinical, electrophysiologic and biopsy findings as well as studies of blood group markers in a family with hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies (HNPP) are reported. There was an autosomal dominant trait without genetic linkage between the HNPP gene and blood group markers controlled by chromosome 1. Reduced motor and sensory nerve conduction velocity was found in clinically affected and unaffected nerves. Characteristic morphological changes in sural nerve biopsy including tomaculous swelling were present.

Free sequestered disc herniation at the S2 level misdiagnosed as neuroma.

The case of a 38 year-old-man with a mass at the S2 level similar to a benign nerve root tumor (neuroma) is reported. The CT scan examination revealed the mass close underneath but not in connection with a disc herniation at the L5/S1 level. During operation the mass was not encountered as tumor but as free sequestered disc herniation, which was confirmed by histological examination. The reasons for considering the mass a tumor are discussed.

The prognostic value of somatosensory evoked potential monitoring and tumor data in supratentorial tumor removal.

The aim of this study was to find appropriate somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) and tumor data that would predict immediate postoperative outcome. Seventeen patients were evaluated, all with supratentorial mass lesions. Intraoperative SSEP monitoring was carried out, and central conduction time, N20 amplitude, and N20 to N13 amplitude ratio were recorded throughout the operation. The differences between the end and the start of the procedure and between the end of the operation and the most substantial changes during tumor removal were calculated for statistical evaluation. Tumor location and extent were carefully determined and calculated by computed tomographic reconstructions in the axial and sagittal planes. Several tumor parameters were measured: the distances from the midpoint of the tumor to the central sulcus, midline, and base of the skull and the longitudinal and cross-sectional diameters. The electrophysiologic and tumor data sets were correlated with the immediate postoperative neurologic deterioration. For this purpose, patients were divided into two groups: group 1 = no neurologic deterioration after operation (13 patients); group 2 = neurologic deterioration after operation (4 patients). The difference in central conduction times between the end and the start of the procedure was the only variable that exhibited a significant influence on the immediate postoperative condition (P = 0.007), as determined by analysis of variance. The other electrophysiologic data as well as the tumor data failed the significance threshold of P = 0.05. Discriminant analysis was applied to test the classification capacity of the measured variables. Involving all measured variables (electrophysiologic and tumor data), discriminant analysis allowed a correct classification of all 17 patients to their proper neurologic deterioration group. Discriminant analysis for SSEP data alone led to 15 correct classifications. Tumor data, used alone for discriminating procedures, revealed 14 correct classifications. When each variable was analyzed separately, only the difference in central conduction times between the end and the start of the procedure gave significant predictions, namely, 15 correct classifications. This was the same number as achieved by all electrophysiologic variables together. No other variable could on its own yield any valid prognosis for assessment of immediate postoperative neurologic deterioration. The data confirm the importance of central conduction time recovery before the end of the operation on the patient's immediate postoperative neurologic condition.

[Intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) in surgery of cerebral aneurysms: topographical information]. / Intraoperative somatosensorisch evozierte Potentiale (SSEP) in der Chirurgie cerebraler Aneurysmen: topische Aussagen.

Out of 114 patients who were operated because of cerebral aneurysms, 16 patients were monitored by means of Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SSEP) during the operation. In 9 of these, successful monitoring was possible during the whole duration of the surgical procedure. In the remaining seven, monitoring was impossible over a long period so that these patients were excluded from the present study. Monitoring of the cerebral functions by means of SSEP provides help in aneurysm surgery as follows: Objective evaluation of the function of the somatosensory system. The induced arterial hypotension--usually done in our department--implies danger for the brain, particularly, if rupture of the aneurysm occurs at the same time. In this case, Somatosensory Evoked Potentials provide the possibility to detect lesions of somatosensory neurons at different levels. This makes prognostic conclusions possible. Pathological changes of some SSEP components during temporary occlusion of arteries of the Circle of Willis indicate developing lesions of brain structures. Intraoperative SSEP data were correlated with the postoperative course in all 9 patients. Prognostic conclusions derived from these data are discussed.

[Ventriculo-cardiac shunt in an adult with a fatal complication: diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Case report]. / Ventrikulo-kardialer Shunt im Erwachsenenalter mit letaler Komplikation: diagnostische und therapeutische Aspekte. Fallbericht.

A 29-year-old patient with a Pudenz-Heyer-shunt was assigned to examination because of exercise-induced dyspnea after 10 years of uncomplicated follow-up. Echocardiography established the diagnosis of advanced cor pulmonale, the cause being multiple pulmonary embolism produced by thrombotic layers on the shunt-tube. During anticoagulant therapy right heart decompensation with fatal outcome occurred.

[Temporary bypass in carotid surgery; peroperative study of various metabolic parameters and the EEG]. / Le by-pass temporaire en chirurgie carotidienne; étude per-opératoire de quelques paramètres métaboliques et de l'EEG.

Out of a whole of patients of nearly 1000 reconstructive operations of the extracranial carotid artery, which were carried out by a systematic application of the intraluminal shunt, 32 selected patients with extracranial stenosis of the internal carotid artery were examined intraoperatively as to the following parameters of the internal carotid artery and the internal jugular vein: pH, pCO2, pO2, B.E. and the lactate were determined as well. Statistic analysis shows a significant increase of the arteriovenous difference of the lactate from the first to the second and from the first to the third sample.

[Differential diagnosis and surgical indications in lumbar intervertebral disk recurrence]. / Differentialdiagnose und Operationsindikation beim lumbalen Bandscheibenrezidiv.

This retrospective study concerns 48 patients who underwent reoperation some time after lumbar disc surgery because of persistent or recurring leg pain. During the same period (January 1980 to October 1982) 821 primary lumbar discectomies were done. Surgical findings at reoperation of 48 patients: 30 patients (3%) had a recurrent disc herniation at the previous site, 9 patients (1%) had disc herniations at a new site only, and 9 patients (1%) had only considerable epidural scar formation. The preoperative differentiation between symptoms related to recurrent disc herniation and those related to epidural scar formation is difficult, because in this situation myelography can not be relied upon. In our series of 48 patients, myelography showed in 27% of the cases false positive or false negative results. The clinical signs and symptoms are therefore of paramount importance.

[Peroperative evoked potentials in neurosurgery]. / Les potentiels évoqués per-opératoires en neuro-chirurgie.

The application of somatosensory evoked potentials in different fields of neurosurgical procedures are presented. SSEP are used for the intra-operative control in aneurysm surgery, during a.v. malformation surgery specially in the posterior fossa and in the operative treatment of large acoustic neurinomas. Finally the authors describe their technic of anterior spinal cord stimulation in transthoracic approach in spinal cord traumatic lesions. In this patients proven intra-operative neuronal continuity allows good prognosis of functional recovery.

[Glioblastoma multiforme developing after a gunshot injury of the brain (author's transl)]. / Glioblastoma multiforme nach Kopfschuss.

We report the case of a 28-year-old male who suffered a frontal penetrating gunshot injury with subsequent bifrontal brain abscess and subdural empyema, and five years later developed a large bifrontal tumour at the precise site of the meningo-cerebral scar and posttraumatic defect. Histological examination showed a glioblastoma multiforme adjacent to the dural scar and, in addition, old suture material was found within the glioma tissue. In spite of combined radiation and polychemotherapy the patient died eleven months after partial tumour resection. The temporal and local association of missile injury with subsequent recurred abscess and scar formation and the malignant glioma is highly suggestive of a causal relationship between trauma and the development of a brain tumour.