RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The placement of external ventricular drainage (EVD) to treat hydrocephalus secondary to a cerebellar stroke is controversial because it has been associated to upward transtentorial herniation (UTH). This case illustrates the effectiveness of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) after the ascending herniation has occurred. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 50-year-old man had a cerebellar stroke with hemorrhagic transformation, tonsillar herniation, and non-communicating obstructive hydrocephalus. Considering that the patient was anticoagulated and thrombocytopenic, an EVD was placed initially, followed by clinical deterioration and UTH. We performed a suboccipital craniectomy immediately after clinical worsening, but the patient did not show clinical or radiological improvement. On the 5th day, we did an ETV, which reverses the upward herniation and hydrocephalus. The patient improved progressively with good neurological recovery. CONCLUSION: ETV is an effective and safe procedure for obstructive hydrocephalus. The successful resolution of the patient's upward herniation after the ETV offers a potential option to treat UTH and advocates further research in this area.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The frontotemporal brain sagging syndrome (FTBSS) is defined as an insidious/progressive decline in behavior and executive functions, hypersomnolence, and orthostatic headaches attributed to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hypovolemia. Here, a T6 CSF-venous fistula (e.g., between the subarachnoid CSF and a paraspinal vein) resulted in a CSF leak responsible for craniospinal hypovolemia. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 56-year-old male started with orthostatic headaches and fatigue after scuba diving. His symptoms included progressive, vertigo, tinnitus, nausea, lack of judgment, inappropriate behavior, memory dysfunction, apathy, tremor, orofacial dyskinesia, dysarthria, dysphagia, and hypersomnolence. The lumbar puncture revealed an opening pressure of 0 cm H2O. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings included brain sagging, bilateral temporal lobe herniation, and pachymeningeal enhancement. The computed tomography (CT) myelogram showed a thoracic diverticulum and a CSF-venous leak at the T6-T7 level. Surgery, which comprised a T6-T7 laminotomy, allowed for dissecting, clipping, and ligating the diverticulum/fistula. The patient improved postoperatively (e.g., cognitive, behavioral, and brainstem symptoms). The follow-up MRI's showed the reversion of the sagging index/uncal herniation. CONCLUSION: The FTBSS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of an early onset frontotemporal dementia. Establishing the diagnosis and localizing the site of a spinal CSF/venous leak warrant both MRI and myelogram CT studies, to pinpoint the CSF leak site for proper surgical clipping/ligation of these thoracic diverticulum/CSF-venous leaks.
