Fatal instability following "odontoid sparing" transoral decompression of a periodontoid pseudotumour.

Pseudotumour of the craniovertebral junction is an uncommon cause of high cervical myelopathy in the elderly. The anterior transoral approach is the preferred means of accessing these lesions. An "odontoid sparing" transoral approach, in which there is only minimal bone removal, is thought to preserve stability of the craniovertebral junction, obviating the need for posterior stabilisation. This report is of an 82 year old man who developed fatal atlanto-axial instability following an odontoid sparing transoral resection of a pseudotumour. This complication has not previously been described and its occurrence has important implications for the surgical management of this condition.

Posterior fossa meningiomas: surgical experience in 52 cases.

BACKGROUND: Early reports of the surgical management of posterior cranial fossa meningiomas (PCFM) yielded poor results with high rates of mortality and morbidity. With the advent of modern neuroimaging and microsurgical techniques the results of surgery have improved markedly, but despite these advances removal of these lesions remains a challenge. METHODS: The results of the surgical treatment of PCF meningiomas were examined with the aim to identify particular features associated with increased mortality and morbidity. RESULTS: Of 713 patients with meningioma, 52 patients were identified with PCFM. Total macroscopic excision was achieved in 44 patients (84%). Postoperative complications occurred in 28 patients (54%) with permanent sequelae in 18 (35%). There were no mortalities in the immediate postoperative period. Follow-up ranged from 14 to 174 months (mean 42), tumour has recurred in 11 patients (21%) with a long-term mortality of 11%. At their latest follow-up 41 (79%) of patients achieved Glasgow outcome scores of 4 or 5. CONCLUSIONS: Total excision of tumour should remain the goal of treatment in patients with PCFM. Despite the recent advances in preoperative planning and surgical techniques, the morbidity associated with surgery remains significant. Notwithstanding, the majority of patients achieve a good outcome with surgical treatment.

Subependymoma of the cervical cord.

Subependymomas are benign lesions of the central nervous system. Their occurrence in the spinal cord is rare. It is important to recognize these lesions because their total surgical excision is feasible and leads to long term symptom remission-a case of a spinal subependymomas localized in the cervical region is discussed and a review of the relevant literature is presented.

Spinal epidural abscess--review of 10 cases.

Abscess formation in the spinal epidural space is a very rare lesion, occurring once in 10,000 admissions to a tertiary centre and often requiring emergency neurosurgical treatment commonly presenting late. We present our experience of ten cases of spinal epidural abscess treated at our institution between January 1984 and July 1994 and review the most recent literature.

Accessory middle cerebral artery. Case report.

An anomalous vessel is reported in a patient with an anterior circulation aneurysm. The presence of an accessory middle cerebral artery arising from the postcommunicating segment of the anterior cerebral artery is described. The clinical relevance and possible etiology of the anomaly are reviewed.

Intramedullary spinal cord abscess: case report.

Intramedullary spinal cord abscesses are rare lesions with a poor prognosis unless diagnosed and treated promptly. We report a case of a Nigerian man with tuberculous meningitis that was complicated by an intraspinal cord abscess and was treated surgically. The literature regarding this uncommon clinical entity is reviewed.

Mycosis fungoides with central nervous system involvement--a case report: T-cell lymphoma of the brain.

Mycosis fungoides is a rare malignant T-cell lymphoma, involving mainly the skin. It can, in 50%-75% of cases, involve visceral organs and, in 11%-14% of cases, metastasize to the central nervous system. The prognosis is poor. A case with cerebral involvement is presented and the relevant literature reviewed.

One-stage internal fixation and anterior fusion in complex cervical spinal disorders.

The authors describe their experience with the Morscher titanium cervical plate with cancellous locking screws in the management of complex cervical spine disorders. Fifty patients (32 males and 18 females) with a mean age of 54 years (range 10 to 84 years) underwent anterior spinal fixation that extended two to five vertebral bodies, using a titanium cervical plate and autogenous bone graft. Surgeries were performed for a variety of reasons: one for a congenital lesion, five for spinal neoplasms, nine for trauma, and 35 for degenerative arthritides. Ten patients had symptomatic kyphoses due to previous laminectomy, failed anterior surgery, or trauma. Satisfactory fixation and fusion with no neurological deterioration was obtained in all but two cases. Specific complications included six cases of dysphagia, one of sepsis, one of Horner's syndrome, and one case in which the patient had a fatal myocardial infarction the night after surgery. At the end of the follow-up period, fusion was found to have occurred in all remaining cases with no outstanding implant-related problems.

Effect of calcitonin-gene-related peptide on postoperative neurological deficits after subarachnoid haemorrhage.

An infusion of calcitonin-gene-related peptide (CGRP) at progressively increased concentrations was given to 15 patients with neurological deficits after intracranial aneurysm surgery for subarachnoid haemorrhage. In 9 of the patients the deficits, quantified by a modified Glasgow coma scale, improved with no adverse effects; after a placebo infusion only 2 of the 15 patients showed improvement. If CGRP can reverse cerebral ischaemia after early intracranial aneurysm surgery, its use may improve the safety of such early surgery, remove the need for late surgery with its increased risk of death from rebleeding, and reduce overall morbidity and mortality of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Synchronous vertebral decompression and posterior stabilization in the treatment of spinal malignancy.

Thirty-four patients with metastatic tumors of the spinal column exhibiting vertebral collapse and posterior element disease were treated by a single-stage operation combining decompression of the vertebral body with posterior spinal instrumentation. Attention is drawn to the use of computed tomographic scanning in planning the operative approach. The indications for surgery were neurological deficit in 32 patients and pain in 2; 14 patients received preoperative radiotherapy. Of the 21 patients who were nonambulant preoperatively, 67% walked again, 21% regained sphincter control, and 68% had less pain. The surgical mortality was 12%; wound infection and dehiscence occurred in 15%. These results indicate that a single-stage decompression and posterior stabilization may improve neurological function dramatically in patients with malignant cord compression. The operative morbidity and mortality is comparable to that of laminectomy.