Broken surgical blade retrieval following lumbar discectomy through paravertebral/lateral transpsoas approach: A case report.

BACKGROUND: There are rare reports of broken surgical blades occurring during lumbar discectomy, and even fewer that discuss their retrieval. CASE DESCRIPTION: While a 54-year-old male was undergoing a lumbar discectomy, the knife blade was broken. As it was difficult to retrieve the fragment through the original incision, the patient was closed, and a postoperative angio-computerized tomography (CT) was obtained. When the CT angiogram (CTA) documented the retained fragment had become lodged near the iliac vein within the psoas muscle, a second operation for blade retrieval, consisting of a paravertebral, lateral transpsoas approach, was successfully performed. CONCLUSION: In some cases, it is difficult to retrieve a broken scalpel blade during the index surgery. When this occurs, we would recommend closing the patient, and obtaining a CTA to better document the location of the retained foreign body. Based upon these findings, a safer second stage procedure may be performed (e.g., as in this case using a paravertebral lateral transpsoas approach) to avoid undue sequelae/morbidity.

Pott's puffy tumor por Actinomyces tras trauma craneal leve / Pott's puffy tumor by Actinomyces after minor head trauma

El Pott's puffy tumor (PPT) es una rara entidad que en la actualidad representa un abombamiento del cuero cabelludo asociado a un absceso subperióstico y a una osteomielitis craneal, pudiendo acompañarse o no de infección intracraneal. Suele asociarse a la sinusitis frontal, tratándose de una complicación típica, aunque poco frecuente de la misma. Por su parte las osteomielitis causadas por Actinomyces son raras y suelen tener lugar a nivel mandibular, no encontrándose apenas casos de osteomielitis craneal causada por este género bacteriano, en especial tras traumatismo craneoencefálico. Presentamos un caso especialmente poco usual al tratarse de un PPT frontal tras traumatismo cerrado, con componente intracraneal y en el que tras cirugía se aisló Actinomyces como copartícipe de dicha infección, junto con Fusobacterium y Propionibacterium

Pott's puffy tumour (PPT) is a rare entity that involves scalp swelling associated with subperiosteal abscess and cranial osteomyelitis, occasionally accompanied by intracranial infection. It is usually affiliated with frontal sinusitis, which is a typical but infrequent complication. On the contrary, Osteomyelitis by Actinomyces is rare and usually occurs at the mandibular level, with very few cases of cranial osteomyelitis caused by this bacterial specie, especially after traumatic brain injury. We report an exceptionally unusual case of a PPT frontal tumor after blunt trauma (closed head injury), with an intracranial lesion whereby Actinomyces was isolated after surgery, as a co-participant of the mentioned infection besides Fusobacterium and Propionibacterium

Pott's puffy tumor by Actinomyces after minor head trauma. / Pott's puffy tumor por Actinomyces tras trauma craneal leve.

Pott's puffy tumour (PPT) is a rare entity that involves scalp swelling associated with subperiosteal abscess and cranial osteomyelitis, occasionally accompanied by intracranial infection. It is usually affiliated with frontal sinusitis, which is a typical but infrequent complication. On the contrary, Osteomyelitis by Actinomyces is rare and usually occurs at the mandibular level, with very few cases of cranial osteomyelitis caused by this bacterial specie, especially after traumatic brain injury. We report an exceptionally unusual case of a PPT frontal tumor after blunt trauma (closed head injury), with an intracranial lesion whereby Actinomyces was isolated after surgery, as a co-participant of the mentioned infection besides Fusobacterium and Propionibacterium.

Cordoma condroide de localización atípica / Chondroid Chordoma in an Atypical Location

El cordoma condroide de localización vertebral torácica es un tipo de tumor que constituye una auténtica rareza. La incidencia anual del cordoma condroide se cifra en 0,1/100.000 habitantes, y la afectación torácica se aprecia en el 2 al 5% de los casos. Su diagnóstico definitivo se ve complicado por su semejanza con otros tumores como los condrosarcomas, por lo que es preciso acudir al estudio inmunohistoquímico.Su capacidad de recidiva y la tendencia a la malignización a pesar de su naturaleza de lento crecimiento provocan que su tratamiento, predominantemente quirúrgico, sea de una complejidad nada desdeñable. Su comportamiento evolutivo tan agresivo está siendo motivo de estudio a nivel molecular y genético para la elaboración de nuevas terapias oncológicas médicas con el fin de complementar la cirugía y la radioterapia, cuando estas sean aplicables. Se presenta un caso de localización torácica vertebral e intrapleural, así como el tratamiento practicado (AU)

Chondroid chordoma is an extremely rare tumour with an annual incidence of around 0.1 cases per 100 000 population. Involvement of the thoracic vertebrae may be present in 2%–5% of cases. Definitive diagnosis usually requires a suitable distinction between this and other mesenchymal tumours such as chondrosarcomas, so immunohistochemical analysis is virtually mandatory. In spite of its slow-growing nature, chondroid chordoma tends to relapse, and it may eventually become malignant, often jeopardising the patient's prognosis. Although surgery remains the main therapeutic approach, research into the molecular and genetic aspects of this tumour is ongoing. These new advances are likely to improve future oncology therapies by complementing surgery and radiotherapy, changing the currently poor prognosis.We report the case of a patient with a chondroid chordoma involving the thoracic vertebrae and pleural cavity, and the treatment performed (AU)

Recidiva traumática de herniación medular idiopática / No disponible

La hernia medular idiopática es una causa muy poco frecuente de mielopatía, siendo todavía más rara la existencia de una recidiva tras un correcto tratamiento. La herniación se produce a través de un defecto dural en la cara anterior de la duramadre a nivel de la columna torácica, por causas no bien establecidas. La cirugía debe liberar la médula, corrigiendo la alineación de la médula e intentando prevenir la recidiva de este cuadro. Presentamos el caso de una mujer con clínica de síndrome de Brown-Séquard consecuencia de una herniación medular a nivel D5, y que tras una primera cirugía exitosa presentó una recidiva de la herniación tras un traumatismo mínimo (AU)

Idiopathic spinal cord herniation is a rare cause of thoracic myelopathy and its recurrence is even more infrequent. Cord herniation is through an anterior dural defect in thoracic spine with unknown causes. Symptomatic cases must be surgically treated to reduce the hernia and seal the defect to prevent recurrences. We report a patient presenting a Brown-Séquard syndrome secondary to a D5 spinal cord herniation treated successfully and its posterior traumatic recurrence (AU)

Chondroid chordoma in an atypical location.

Chondroid chordoma is an extremely rare tumour with an annual incidence of around 0.1 cases per 100,000population. Involvement of the thoracic vertebrae may be present in 2-5% of cases. Definitive diagnosis usually requires a suitable distinction between this and other mesenchymal tumours such as chondrosarcomas, so immunohistochemical analysis is virtually mandatory. In spite of its slow-growing nature, chondroid chordoma tends to relapse, and it may eventually become malignant, often jeopardising the patient's prognosis. Although surgery remains the main therapeutic approach, research into the molecular and genetic aspects of this tumour is ongoing. These new advances are likely to improve future oncology therapies by complementing surgery and radiotherapy, changing the currently poor prognosis. We report the case of a patient with a chondroid chordoma involving the thoracic vertebrae and pleural cavity, and the treatment performed.

[Traumatic recurrence of idiopathic spinal cord herniation]. / Recidiva traumática de herniación medular idiopática.

Idiopathic spinal cord herniation is a rare cause of thoracic myelopathy and its recurrence is even more infrequent. Cord herniation is through an anterior dural defect in thoracic spine with unknown causes. Symptomatic cases must be surgically treated to reduce the hernia and seal the defect to prevent recurrences. We report a patient presenting a Brown-Séquard syndrome secondary to a D5 spinal cord herniation treated successfully and its posterior traumatic recurrence.

Anomalous ascending pharyngeal artery arising from the internal carotid artery: report of three cases.

Anomalous branches from the internal carotid artery (ICA) have been reported rarely in the literature. We report three cases of ascending pharyngeal arising from the ICA. It is essential to be aware of these variations in carotid artery surgery.

Parálisis del III par como único signo en un hematoma subdural crónico / Isolated IIIrd nerve palsy as the only sign of chronic subdural haematoma

No disponible