[Combined supra and infratentorial presigmoideo approach for lesions of the petrous and clival regions]. / Abordaje combinado suprainfratentorial presigmoideo en las lesiones de la región petrosa y clival.

INTRODUCTION: Petrous and petroclival lesions may be surgically treated with combinations of suprainfratentorial presigmoideo approach and microsurgical techniques. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the utility and to present our surgical experiences with this approach. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirteen patients with lesions of the clival, petrous region and of the cerebellopontine angle with extension toward the anterior portion of brainstem were taken to the operative room. There were nine women and four men. Eleven were adults and two children. The main clinical manifestations were headache (100%), dysfunction of cranial nerves (90%), ataxia (90%) hemiparesis (75%). There was papiledema in 45%. Petroclival meningiomas and schwannomas were the more frequent lesions. There were three patients with intraxial brainstem tumors and two arteriovenous malformations. There were not aneurysms. We performed nine retrolaberintic, three translaberintic and one transcochlear approach. RESULTS: There was not severe incapacity, vegetative or dead patients. The surgical complications were facial nerve paresis (31%), cerebrospinal fluid leak (23%), decreased gag reflex (15%), abducens nerve paresis, hemiparesis and Claude Bernard Horner syndrome (8%). 50% of these complications disappeared three months later. CONCLUSIONS: The suprainfratentorial presigmoidal approach and their surgical variations could be utilized to obtaining a low morbimortality, in the treatment of different neoplasm and vascular diseases of the petrous and petroclival region.

[Multiple intracranial aneurysms in Camagüey, Cuba]. / Aneurismas intracraneales múltiples en Camagüey, Cuba.

INTRODUCTION: It is considered multiple intracranial aneurysms when a patient harbors two or more intracranial aneurysms. OBJECTIVE: To analyze clinical characteristic and microneurosurgical results of patients with multiple intracranial aneurysms attended in Camagüey. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 524 patients operated on to clip aneurysms, we searched 113 patients with multiple intracranial aneurysms. Patients were operated on by microneurosurgical methods and specialized neuroanesthesia. We performed one or two stage operations. Patients were evaluated three month later with Glasgow Outcome scale. RESULTS: There were 21.5% of multiple aneurysms. Age average was 46 years. There were 85 (75%) women and 28 (25%) men. Associated diseases were high blood pressure, carotid fibromuscular dysplasia and familiar aneurysms. There were 264 aneurysms: 252 at the carotid system and 12 at the vertebrobasilar circulation. Sacs average per patients was 2.3. There were 36% of bilateral aneurysms and 30% of symmetric or mirror sacs. Nehls algorithm permitted to localize symptomatic lesions at: posterior communicating region, anterior cerebral anterior communicating artery, basilar bifurcation, ophthalmic region, and middle cerebral artery. We utilized 128 surgical procedures and two stage operations were applied in 15 patients. 90% of aneurysms were clipped. Ninety patients (79%) obtained complete recuperation, 15 (12%) partial incapacity; 3 (4%) severe incapacity and there were not vegetative patients. Five patients died and the mortality rate was 4.4%. CONCLUSION: Multiple intracranial aneurysms are complex lesions but each one has a similar behavior to sporadic aneurysms. Association to different medical conditions is frequent and microneurosurgery offers good results.

[Familial intracranial aneurysms in Camagüey]. / Aneurismas intracraneales familiares en Camagüey.

INTRODUCTION: Genetic etiology in suggested in intracranial aneurysms. Such hypothesis is supported on familial aggregation, ocurrence in identical twins or associated to genetic diseases like adult polycystic renal disease. OBJECTIVE: To identify biological features in familial aneurysms different to sporadic ones. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Camag ey province is one of the most ancient in Cuba. Motionless population at the beginning had its sources in Spanish and African people. It has 800,000 inhabitants. 497 patients with intracranial aneurysms were operated at Manuel Ascunce Domenech Hospital between January 1982 and August 2001. We identified 15 families with intracranial aneurysms. RESULTS: 31 patients were operated on of 42 intracranial sacs at the carotid territory. There were 34% of multiplicity ant three mirror aneurysms. Three patients (9.7 %) have adult polycystic renal disease. 87 % of patients present aneurysms rupture and mortality was 32 %. This last figure was related to poor admission clinical grade. CONCLUSIONS: Frequency of familial aneurysms was 6.2% Familial aggregation, aneurysms between twins associated with genetic linked disease, early age rupture, high frequency between women, posterior communicating and middle cerebral artery bifurcation preference, mirror aneurysms and high general mortality associated to massive intracranial bleeding identified this clusters of familial aneurysms and would justify imaginological screening of high risk patients before the rupture.

[Aneurysms surgery in the patients aged seventy to eighty years]. / La cirugía de los aneurismas intracraneales en la séptima y octava décades de la vida.

Elderly patients are a growing population group in developing countries because of optimal health care. 13% of Cuba population is older than sixty years and it is expected to grow to 20% in 2005. Subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to ruptured aneurysms in geriatric patients carries a high mortality but a few patients are selected for surgical treatment. Manuel Ascunce Domenech Hospital attended 1112 patients older than 60 years between January 1994 and December 2001. Of these there were 96 patients with symptomatic intracranial aneurysms and we selected 30 for surgical treatment. They were all in clinical grades I and II of the WFNS scale. They had good health to face surgery and familiar consent. The size and location of the aneurysms were not considered among the exclusion criteria. Aneurysms were mainly localized at posterior communicating and middle cerebral arteries. There were two deaths, one due to a medical cause an the other to the surgical procedure. 74% of the patients obtained satisfactory outcome six month after the operation. The clue is to not consider age as a negative point for surgery. Surgical procedures can be performed in patients with good clinical grade (WFNS). New technical advances, stroke units, accurately selected patients and minimal invasive surgical methods will help to obtain good results.

[Hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system in Camagüey (Cuba)]. / Hemangioblastomas del sistema nervioso en Camagüey (Cuba).

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system are the most frequent vascular tumours. They are 1 2% of primary nervous system tumours and 8 12% of the posterior fossa neoplasms. The objective is to analize clinical behaviour and long term results of sporadic and Von Hippel Lindau linked hemangioblastomas. PATIENTS AND METHODS: It was searched the vacular Neurosurgical Data Bank at Manuel Ascunce Dom nech Hospital between January 1981 and January 2001 to select patients harvoring central nervous system hemangioblastomas histological confirmed. Melmo and Rosen criteria were utilized in Von Hippel Lindau syndrome. We performed a twenty years follow up of this patients. RESULTS: There were 12 patients with central nervous system hemangioblastomas. Average age of presentation was 41 years old. The first case had twenty years since the operation and the last, eight months. 83% were cystic and 17% were solids. There was not surgical mortality. One patient died of renal carcinoma 15 years after the operation on craneal fossa. CONCLUSION: Central nervous system hemangioblastomas are a cluster of challenge tumours. They are intraxial benign tumours with potential good outcome. We observed sporadic and Von Hippel Lindau linked hemangioblastomas. Patients with this syndrome need clinico imagenological screening to identify new associated lesions.