Neurologic Complications in Patients with Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Single Institution Retrospective Review.

BACKGROUND: Neurologic complications are common complications encountered by patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). This single-center retrospective study aims to identify the incidence and risk factors of neurologic complications and interventions in patients supported with LVADs and define the associated anticoagulation management. METHODS: Between August 2009 and August 2017, 244 patients underwent LVAD implantation. Twenty-one patients were excluded for having neurologic complications before LVAD placement or for having previously undergone heart transplantation. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients (25%) suffered 61 complications, and 11 (19.6%) died as a result. Gender, type of LVAD, or chronic medical comorbidities evaluated did not contribute to a difference in complication rate; in contrast, length of LVAD implantation was directly related to risk of neurologic complication. Eleven patients (19.6%) underwent 13 surgical interventions including 5 mechanical thrombectomies. Anticoagulation was reversed in 16 patients and held without complication. Anticoagulation was not held for ischemic complications, and no clinically significant hemorrhagic transformation occurred. Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator was also successfully administered to 3 patients without complication. CONCLUSIONS: Neurologic complications were observed in 25% of patients supported with LVADs, of which 20% required neurosurgical intervention. Anticoagulation can be safely withheld in patients with hemorrhagic complications. Patients with ischemic complications can continue to be anticoagulated with no significant risk of hemorrhagic transformation. Length of LVAD implantation was directly related to the risk of neurologic complication. Finally, our study adds to existing literature that mechanical thrombectomy and even intravenous tissue plasminogen activator are options for LVAD patients with ischemic complications.

De Novo Spinal Dural Arteriovenous Fistula in a Patient with a Lipomyelomeningocele: Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (AVF), the most common type of spinal vascular malformation, tends to manifest as progressive myelopathy over several years. Spinal dural AVFs are considered an acquired lesion and, in contrast to spinal arteriovenous malformations, are not often associated with other anomalies. The presence of a spinal dural AVF in the setting of a lipomyelomeningocele and tethered cord is extremely rare. Both lesions tend to cause similar symptoms, and patients with concomitant lesions generally require surgical intervention for both. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 57-year-old female with lifelong urinary incontinence and mild weakness in the left lower extremity presented with progressive worsening of left lower extremity weakness as well as worsening bowel and bladder incontinence. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed 4 years before our evaluation revealed a lipomyelomeningocele and a tethered cord; a new MRI demonstrated a new additional finding of flow voids suspicious of an underlying vascular malformation. Diagnostic angiography revealed a dural AVF fed by a left lateral sacral artery. Onyx embolization of the dural AVF was performed, and the patient improved steadily postoperatively without the need for surgically addressing the tethered cord. CONCLUSION: In this case report, we present evidence of de novo development of a spinal dural AVF associated with a lipomyelomeningocele. In addition, this is the second documented patient in the literature with a lipomyelomeningocele and concomitant dural AVF who did not undergo detethering of the cord as part of treatment.

Delayed Collapse of a Pipeline Embolization Device.

BACKGROUND: The Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) is a treatment modality for wide-neck complex intracranial aneurysms. There have been recent reports for the use of PEDs in dissecting pseudoaneurysms of the cervical carotid arteries. The use of this flow diversion technology has emerged as a promising alternative; however, there are various risks and complications that one should be aware of. OBJECTIVE: To report a rare postoperative complication, identified during follow-up, in a patient initially treated for an internal carotid artery dissection with multiple overlapping PEDs. METHODS: A 53-year-old male with unremarkable history presented with acute Horner's syndrome, and imaging findings revealing internal carotid artery dissection and pseudoaneurysm with significant flow-limiting stenosis. He underwent treatment with a PED. RESULTS: At 3 months post-operation, a cerebral angiogram demonstrated that one of his pipeline stents in the posterior cavernous segment had collapsed at its central portion. Flow was preserved around the outside of the collapsed device. We performed 4 rounds of balloon angioplasty with modest, but not complete, re-expansion of the stent. The patient has been doing well in the postoperative period with no complications. CONCLUSION: The PED's role in the management of aneurysms and other intra- and extra-cranial vascular pathologies continues to expand, and new complications are bound to be discovered, similar to our case. As the use of these devices becomes routine and widespread, the frequency of these complications will increase. The management of unforeseen complications of PEDs, such as a collapsed stent, will need to be determined on an individual basis.

Multiple unilateral traumatic carotid-cavernous sphenoid sinus fistulas with associated massive epistaxis: a consequence of parkour.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic carotid-cavernous fistulas (CCFs) present the clinician with diagnostic and surgical challenges. Extension of a CCF into the sphenoid sinus presents additional management difficulties. Endovascular interventions using various thrombogenic materials such as balloons, coils, or liquids are effective treatment strategies. Ideally, these techniques are used to obliterate the fistula while maintaining the patency of the parent artery. CASE REPORT: We present a rare case of traumatic carotid-cavernous sphenoid sinus fistulas complicated by multiple tears in the internal carotid artery with direct communication to the cavernous and sphenoid sinus. As a result, the patient developed massive epistaxis requiring emergent endovascular intervention. A total of 87 detachable coils were placed into the cavernous and sphenoid sinuses via transarterial and transvenous routes in a staged procedure, resulting in complete obliteration of the patient's multiple fistulas. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of multiple fistulous tears in the internal carotid artery with extension to the cavernous and sphenoid sinus. This report emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and neurosurgical intervention.

Mechanical thrombectomy for pediatric stroke arising from an atrial myxoma: case report.

Children experiencing severe neurological deficit due to acute ischemic stroke may benefit from endovascular intervention. The authors describe the use of mechanical thrombectomy in the treatment of embolic occlusion secondary to an atrial myxoma in a pediatric patient. This case involved an 11-year-old boy with a history notable for Raynaud syndrome and a distal extremity rash who presented to the emergency department with dense hemiparesis secondary to thromboembolic occlusion of the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery. Following mechanical thrombectomy, the patient's pediatric National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score improved from a 16 to a 7. In the setting of acute pediatric stroke due to atrial myxoma emboli, mechanical thrombectomy may be a first-line therapy.

Preconditioning effect on cerebral vasospasm in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Recent experimental evidence indicates that endogenous mechanisms against cerebral vasospasm can be induced via preconditioning. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether these vascular protective mechanisms are also present in vivo in humans with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. METHODS: A multicenter retrospective cohort of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage was examined for ischemic preconditioning stimulus: preexisting steno-occlusive cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and/or previous cerebral infarct. Generalized estimating equation models were performed to determine the effect of the preconditioning stimulus on the primary end points of radiographic vasospasm, symptomatic vasospasm, and vasospasm-related delayed cerebral infarction and the secondary end point of discharge modified Rankin Scale score. RESULTS: Of 1043 patients, 321 (31%) had preexisting CVD and 437 (42%) had radiographic vasospasm. Patients with preexisting CVD were less likely to develop radiographic vasospasm (odds ratio = 0.67; 95% confidence interval = 0.489-0.930; P = .02) but had no differences in other end points. In terms of the secondary end point, patients with preexisting CVD did not differ significantly from patients without preexisting CVD in mortality or unfavorable outcome in multivariate analyses, although patients with preexisting CVD were marginally more likely to die (P = .06). CONCLUSION: This retrospective case-control study suggests that endogenous protective mechanisms against cerebral vasospasm-a preconditioning effect-may exist in humans, although these results could be the effect of atherosclerosis or some combination of preconditioning and atherosclerosis. Additional studies investigating the potential of preconditioning in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage are warranted.

An unusual case of pediatric bow hunter's stroke.

BACKGROUND: Bow Hunter's syndrome/stroke is defined as symptomatic, vertebrobasilar insufficiency provoked by physiologic head rotation. It is a diagnostically challenging cause of posterior circulation stroke in children. While there have been prior reports of this rare disorder, we describe an exceptional case of pediatric Bow Hunter's stroke resulting from a near complete occlusion the right vertebral artery (VA) secondary to an anomalous spur emanating from the right occipital condyle. Surgical and endovascular options and approaches are also detailed herein. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 16-year-old male presented with multiple posterior circulation ischemic strokes. A dynamic computerized tomography angiogram performed with the patient's head in a rotated position revealed a near complete occlusion of the V3 segment of the right VA from a bone spur arising from his occipital condyle. The spur caused a focal dissection of the distal right VA with associated thrombus. He was initially managed with a cervical collar, antiplatelet therapy with aspirin 81 mg and anticoagulation with coumadin (INR goal 2-3) for 3 months. Despite the management plan, he had a subsequent thromboembolic event and a right VA sacrifice with coil embolization was then performed. At the 3-month follow-up, the patient was doing well with no reports of any subsequent strokes. CONCLUSION: We report the first reported pediatric case of Bow Hunter's stroke due to dynamic right VA occlusion from an occipital condylar bone spur. The vascular compression from this spur led to a right VA dissection and thrombus formation and ultimately caused multiple posterior circulation thromboembolic strokes. Endovascular treatment options including vessel sacrifice should be considered in cases that have failed maximal medical management.

Intentional partial coiling dome protection of complex ruptured cerebral aneurysms prevents acute rebleeding and produces favorable clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The coiling of ruptured cerebral aneurysms protects against acute rebleeding; however, whether partially coiling a ruptured cerebral aneurysm protects against acute rebleeding has never been demonstrated. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to test our hypothesis that intentional partial coiling of complex ruptured cerebral aneurysms, which are unfavorable for clipping and cannot be completely coiled primarily, prevents acute rebleeding to allow for clinical and neurological recovery until definitive treatment and produces favorable clinical outcomes. METHODS: Data were collected from the prospective databases of three centers. Only subarachnoid hemorrhage patients that were treated with a strategy of intentional partial coiling for dome protection were included. This did not include patients in whom the goal was complete coiling but only subtotal coil occlusion was achieved. RESULTS: Fifteen patients [aged 51 ± 13 years; HH 3-5 (n = 7); Fisher 3-4 (n = 9)] were treated with intentional partial dome protection. Aneurysm size was 12.8 ± 5.4 mm; neck size 4.9 ± 3 mm; 12 anterior circulation. Four intentional partial coilings were performed with balloon assistance. Definitive treatment was performed 92 ± 90 days later, with no case of rebleeding. Definitive treatment was clipping (n = 8), stent-coiling (n = 5), Onyx (n = 1), further coiling (n = 1). Clinical outcome was favorable in 13 cases (GOS 4-5), fair in one (GOS 3), and death in one (GOS 1). CONCLUSIONS: Judicious use of a treatment strategy of intentional partial dome protection for complex aneurysms that are not favorable for clipping and in which complete coiling primarily is not possible may prevent acute rebleeding and produce favorable clinical outcomes.

Factors associated with aspirin resistance in patients premedicated with aspirin and clopidogrel for endovascular neurosurgery.

OBJECTIVE: Antiplatelet therapy is critical to endovascular neurosurgical procedures. Some patients are aspirin-resistant nonresponders. We reviewed our endovascular neurosurgery patients who were premedicated with aspirin and clopidogrel and identified nonresponders to aspirin. Factors associated with aspirin resistance were determined. METHODS: Consecutive endovascular neurosurgery patients were identified who were treated by the senior author (BLH) from December 2006 to October 2007 and who were premedicated with aspirin (325 mg) and clopidogrel (75 mg) for 7 days before the procedure. We retrospectively reviewed values from the platelet function analyzer-100 test (Dade-Behring, Deerfield, IL) from 1 day before the procedures. The following factors were evaluated for association with aspirin drug resistance: age, sex, body mass index, and smoking history; patients with hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease/ peripheral vascular disease, or hypercholesterolemia; disease pathology (aneurysm, intracranial stenosis, or extracranial stenosis); patients taking statins, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers, or antidepressants; and white blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet levels. A stepwise logistic model selection was used to select important factors and their interactions. RESULTS: Eighty-one consecutive patients with the following interventions were included in the study: 35 aneurysm coilings (43%), 21 stent-assisted aneurysm coilings (26%), 13 carotid stent and angioplasties (16%), 7 intracranial stents and angioplasties (9%), and 5 extracranial vertebral artery stents and angioplasties (6%). Seventeen patients (21%) were nonresponders to aspirin. After model selection, the only factor associated with aspirin resistance was not taking an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (P = 0.0348; odds ratio, 0.214; 95% confidence interval, 0.051-0.896). CONCLUSION: Twenty-one percent of patients premedicated with aspirin and clopidogrel dual therapy for 7 days before endovascular neurosurgical procedures were nonresponders to aspirin. Patients not taking an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker may be at higher risk for aspirin drug resistance.

Comparison of N-butyl cyanoacrylate and onyx for the embolization of intracranial arteriovenous malformations: analysis of fluoroscopy and procedure times.

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVM) may be managed through staged preoperative embolization and resection. Two commonly used liquid embolics are N-butyl cyanoacrylate (nBCA; Cordis Microvascular, Inc., New Brunswick, NJ) and Onyx (ev3, Inc., Irvine, CA). We sought to compare the utility of these agents in terms of fluoroscopy and procedure times. METHODS: All intracranial AVMs embolized from 2002 to 2006 at the University of Florida were included in this study. Patients were stratified into three treatment groups: nBCA, Onyx, and patients who received both nBCA and Onyx during separate embolizations. Cohorts were compared by sex, age, Spetzler-Martin grade, AVM volume, fluoroscopy time, procedure time, surgical blood loss, and complications. RESULTS: A total of 182 embolizations were performed on 88 patients (nBCA, 60 patients and 106 procedures; Onyx, 20 patients and 43 procedures; and nBCA/Onyx, eight patients and 16 nBCA and 17 Onyx procedures). There were no significant differences in patient demographics, AVM volumes, and Spetzler-Martin grades. Mean fluoroscopy and procedure times were increased for Onyx (57 min; 2.6 h) compared with nBCA (37 min; 2.1 h) embolizations (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.001, respectively). Cumulative mean fluoroscopy time was increased for Onyx (135 min) and nBCA/Onyx (180 min) cohorts relative to nBCA (64 min; P < 0.0001). Cumulative mean procedure time was increased in the nBCA/Onyx group (10.4 h) compared with nBCA (3.7 h) and Onyx (5.4 h; P < 0.0001). Seventy patients (80%) underwent AVM resection. No significant differences in surgical blood loss or complication rates were observed among the cohorts. CONCLUSION: Onyx AVM embolization requires increased fluoroscopy and procedure times compared with nBCA. Further investigation is necessary to justify increased radiation exposure and procedure time associated with Onyx.

Bottleneck factor and height-width ratio: association with ruptured aneurysms in patients with multiple cerebral aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE: Determining factors predictive of the natural risk of rupture of cerebral aneurysms is difficult because of the need to control for confounding variables. We studied factors associated with rupture in a study model of patients with multiple cerebral aneurysms, one aneurysm that had ruptured and one or more that had not, in which each patient served as their own internal control. METHODS: We collected aneurysm location, one-dimensional measurements, and two-dimensional indices from the computed tomographic angiograms of patients in the proposed study model and compared ruptured versus unruptured aneurysms. Bivariate statistics were supplemented with multivariable logistic regression analysis to model ruptured status. A total of 40 candidate models were evaluated for predictive power and fit with Wald scoring, Cox and Snell R2, Hosmer and Lemeshow tests, case classification counting, and residual analysis to determine which of the computed tomographic angiographic measurements or indices were jointly associated with and predictive of aneurysm rupture. RESULTS: Thirty patients with 67 aneurysms (30 ruptured, 37 unruptured) were studied. Maximum diameter, height, maximum width, bulge height, parent artery diameter, aspect ratio, bottleneck factor, and aneurysm/parent artery ratio were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with ruptured aneurysms on bivariate analysis. When best subsets and stepwise multivariable logistic regression was performed, bottleneck factor (odds ratio = 1.25, confidence interval = 1.11-1.41 for every 0.1 increase) and height-width ratio (odds ratio = 1.23, confidence interval = 1.03-1.47 for every 0.1 increase) were the only measures that were significantly predictive of rupture. CONCLUSION: In a case-control study of patients with multiple cerebral aneurysms, increased bottleneck factor and height-width ratio were consistently associated with rupture.

Intraoperative dynamic angiography to detect resolution of Bow Hunter's syndrome: Technical case report.

BACKGROUND: Bow Hunter's syndrome is a rare form of vertebrobasilar insufficiency that may be successfully treated by surgical intervention. Use of intraoperative dynamic transcranial Doppler ultrasound for surgical treatment of vertebrobasilar insufficiency has been described in literature. However, this technique was inconsistent and unreliable in some patients. We present a case of a patient with Bow Hunter's syndrome treated surgically and emphasize the valuable addition of intraoperative dynamic angiography to determine resolution of vertebral artery compromise. CASE DESCRIPTION: The patient was a 58-year-old man with complaints of dizziness, vertigo, and near-syncopal episodes that occurred when he rotated his head to the left. Imaging revealed compromise of the dominant left vertebral artery with leftward head rotation. An anterior cervical approach with decompression of the left subaxial vertebral artery was performed. Significant osteophyte formation was observed. Removal of bone and decompression of the vertebral artery was performed. Intraoperative dynamic angiography confirmed resolution of vertebral artery compression and minimized the amount of decompression. No further intervention was required. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative dynamic angiography is a definitive test to determine hemodynamic resolution of Bow Hunter's syndrome. It offers real-time feedback of vertebral artery decompression, potentially minimizes the amount of decompression, and can be performed safely.

Frameless, pinless stereotactic neurosurgery in children.

OBJECT: Frameless neuronavigation has been established as a useful adjunct to intracranial surgery; however, the procedure is limited in young children by the need for rigid skull fixation with pins. Pin fixation is difficult and hazardous for patients younger than 2 years of age. Minor risks have been associated with pin fixation in older patients also, including scalp laceration, skull fracture, and epidural hematoma. METHODS: The authors adapted a pinless head fixation system, consisting of a beanbag device, for use with frameless neuronavigation. This system was used to perform intracranial neurosurgical procedures in nine patients. CONCLUSIONS: This pinless, frameless method provides a new option for children who are unable to sustain rigid head fixation. It is also an alternative to rigid pin fixation for patients of any age.