Lumbar Subdural Hematoma Detected After Surgical Treatment of Chronic Intracranial Subdural Hematoma.

BACKGROUND: Spinal subdural hematoma (SSDH), which can cause lower back pain, leg pain, and leg weakness, is rare and will usually be associated with a bleeding tendency, trauma, spinal vascular malformation, intraspinal tumor, or iatrogenic invasion. Only a few cases of SSDH after intracranial chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) have been reported. We report a case of lumbar SSDH in the absence of predisposing factors after reoperation for recurrent intracranial CSDH, which improved with conservative treatment. CASE DESCRIPTION: Approximately 1 month after falling, a 63-year-old woman was experiencing left hemiparesis and impaired orientation that was diagnosed as right intracranial CSDH using computed tomography. Surgical treatment of the CSDH led to immediate improvement of her symptoms. On postoperative day 29, the right CSDH had recurred with left hemiparesis, and successful reoperation relieved the symptoms within a few hours postoperatively. However, 1 day after the second operation, very small acute subdural hematomas in regions along the left tentorium cerebelli and left falx cerebri were found on computed tomography. On day 31, she complained of sitting-induced bilateral radiating lower limb pain. Magnetic resonance imaging on day 34 showed an acute SSDH at the L4-L5 level and a sacral perineural cyst filled with hematoma, although her radiating pain was showing improvement. She was treated conservatively and was discharged without symptoms on day 44. CONCLUSIONS: Although SSDH is rare, it is important for neurosurgeons and physicians to consider the possibility of a SSDH when lower limb pain or paresis occurs after procedures that will result in rapid intracranial pressure alterations such as drainage of an intracranial CSDH.

Effective use of sertraline for pathological laughing after severe vasospasm due to aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: case report.

Pathological laughing, one subgroup of psuedobulbar affect, is known as laughter inappropriate to the patient's external circumstances and unrelated to the patient's internal emotional state. The authors present the case of a 76-year-old woman with no significant medical history who experienced pathological laughing after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to rupture of an aneurysm, which was successfully treated with craniotomy for aneurysm clipping. In the acute stage after the operation she suffered from severe vasospasm and resulting middle cerebral artery territory infarction and conscious disturbance. As she regained consciousness she was afflicted by pathological laughing 6 months after the onset of SAH. Her involuntary laughter was inappropriate to the situation and was incongruent with the emotional state, and she could not control by herself. Finally the diagnosis of pathological laughing was made and treatment with sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), effectively cured the symptoms. Her pathological laughing was estimated to be consequence of infarction in the right prefrontal cortex and/or corona radiata, resulting from vasospasm. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of pathological laughing after aneurysmal SAH. The authors offer insight into the pathophysiology of this rare phenomenon. Effectiveness of sertraline would widen the treatment modality against pathological laughing.

Sunitinib treatment for multiple brain metastases from jejunal gastrointestinal stromal tumor: case report.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are rare malignant tumors and only a few reported cases of brain metastases can be found. Introduction of a new molecular targeted agent, imatinib mesylate in the last decade has dramatically changed the treatment strategy and prognosis. However, imatinib is usually ineffective for brain metastasis from GISTs. The authors present the case of multiple brain metastases from jejunal GIST. The brain metastasis in the right prefrontal gyrus was detected 20 months after resection of the primary lesion when left hemiparesis began although the patient was on imatinib. Then the patient began taking sunitinib instead of imatinib, and the lesion shrunk and the symptom improved. However, after the dose reduction due to side effects, a new brain metastasis was found and this time, stereotactic radiation was effectively done. Sunitinib is one of the promising receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors used for metastatic renal cell carcinomas or imatinib-refractory GISTs. Sunitinib is thought to penetrate blood-brain barrier, and recent reports indicate effectiveness to brain metastasis. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of brain metastases from jejunal GIST responding to sunitinib therapy.

[Saccular aneurysm arising in the non-branching segment of the distal anterior cerebral artery with stalk-like narrow neck: a case report].

An aneurysm arising in the distal anterior cerebral artery (DACA) is relatively rare. Among them, those in the non-branching segment are seldom reported so far. The authors present the case of an 87-year-old woman who developed intracerebral hemorrhage and acute hydrocephalus due to rupture of an aneurysm arising in the non-branching site of DACA. External ventricular drainage followed by aneurysm clipping by bifrontal craniotomy was performed as treatment. Microscopic observations revealed that the aneurysm was saccular-shaped, located at the non-branching site of the A3 portion of the anterior cerebral artery, and had significant atherosclerosis neither on its parent artery nor neck. Histopathological examinations of the aneurysm wall denied traumatic aneurysm or mycotic aneurysm, and showed partial disruption of the internal elastic lamina, suggesting a difference from common aneurysms arising at arterial branchings. Profound knowledge of this type of aneurysms would be useful in dealing with them at surgery.

[Relationship of direction of drainage tube and recurrence in chronic subdural hematoma].

The favorable effect of burr hole irrigation and closed drainage system has been reported in the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma (CSH). After analyzing the relationship of the direction of the drainage tube and recurrence, we have suggested that the residual air after surgery night be important as one of the factors causing recurrence. The present study included 128 chronic subdural hematomas in 102 patients who had been treated in our institute between January, 1996 and October, 2000. We attempted to place the tip of the external drain at the occipital side within the hematoma cavity between January, 1996 and December, 1998 (occipital drainage group), while we tried to insert the tip of the external drain at the frontal side using an endoscope between January, 1999 and October, 2000 (frontal drainage group). We focused on the residual air on CT, the direction of the drainage, recurrence of the hematoma and the size of the hematoma. Some statistical analyses were conducted using these factors. The recurrence rate was slightly lower in the frontal drainage group than that in occipital drainage group. There was no difference in the residual rate of air immediately after the surgery on CT and the recurrence rate between the 2 groups. However, the interval preceding the recurrence was statistically significantly longer in the frontal drainage group. A higher rate of recurrence was noted for cases in which the volume of hematoma was more than 70 ml. The residual rate of air 1 week after surgery was significantly higher in the recurrent group than in non-recurrent group. In this study, it is demonstrated that a long-standing residual of air after surgery is one of the causes of the recurrence of CSH. We must contrive to reduce the residual air after surgery for the treatment of CSH.