"Este caso me desorientó... " / "This case disoriented me..."

Paciente masculino de 66 años que se presentó al servi-cio de guardia y urgencias por cuadro clínico caracteriza-do por mareos de 3 meses de evolución e inestabilidad de la marcha de 24 hs de evolución. Como único signo positi-vo al examen físico se constató dismetría de miembros su-periores. Se decidió estudiar con TC de cerebro en donde se identificó, en topografía pineal y tercer ventrículo, una voluminosa lesión ocupante de espacio, sólida, de aproxi-madamente 27 x 21 mm de densidad heterogénea, con pro-bable relación a restos hemáticos en distintos estadios evo-lutivos asociada a calcificaciones periféricas

Endoscopic resection through a retrosigmoid transmeatal approach of a large-sized vestibular schwannoma: operative video and technical nuances.

Surgical management of vestibular schwannomas has improved over the last 30 years. Whereas in the past the primary goal was to preserve the patient's life, today neurological function safeguarding is the main objective, with numerous strategies involving single resection, staged resections, postoperative radiosurgery, or single radiosurgery. The retrosigmoid approach remains the primary pathway for surgical access to the cerebellopontine angle (CPA). The use of an endoscope has great advantages. It contributes to the visualization and resection of residual tumor and also reduces the need for cerebellar retraction. The authors present a fully endoscopic resection of a large-sized vestibular schwannoma with facial nerve preservation. The video can be found here: https://stream.cadmore.media/r10.3171/2021.7.FOCVID21106.

Results in the treatment of intracranial hemangiopericytomas. Case series. / Resultados en el tratamiento de los hemangiopericitomas intracraneanos. Serie de casos.

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a rare central nervous system tumor characterized by its low incidence, high rate of local recurrence and risk of metastasis. The main objectives of this paper are two: to show the results in the treatment of HPC in our institution in the last 20years and to make a review of the literature on this topic. METHODS: Retrospective review that includes patients diagnosed with intracranial solitary fibrous tumor/hemangiopericytoma (SFT/HPC) that have undergone surgery from 1997 to 2017. It includes patients that had nuclear expression of STAT-6 (detected by immunohistochemistry) and gradeII/III histopathological diagnosis (defined by the World Health Organization in 2016). We collected demographic data, tumor characteristics, treatment and survival of these patients. RESULTS: A total of 19 patients fulfilled inclusion criteria. The median follow up was 96 months (12-230). The mortality rate was 21% (n=4). 57.9% of patients presented at least one tumor recurrence (n=11) (recurrences of 6%, 67% y 90% at 1, 5 and 10years). Five patients presented extracranial metastasis. Patients with tumors <6cm had greater survival (P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: A series of patients undergoing SFT/HPC were presented according to the new WHO criteria. Size is a predictor of survival. Currently there are no validated criteria for surgical resection in this pathology. A classification with surgical guidance would be useful.

Postcraniectomy pain: comparison between 2 incisions for the retrosigmoid approach. Prospective randomized study. / Dolor poscraniectomía: comparación entre 2 incisiones para el abordaje retrosigmoideo. Estudio prospectivo aleatorizado.

BACKGROUND: Suboccipital lateral approach is a common practice in neurosurgery to expose the region of the cerebellopontine angle. Postcraniectomy headache (PCH) is one of the most frequent complications that diminish the quality of life of patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare postcraniectomy pain in patients operated on for vestibular neurinomas by a suboccipital lateral approach by 2 different incisions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective randomized research study. Follow-up of patients operated for vestibular neurinomas between July 2017 and May 2019 (n=40) by the same surgeon. One group received the classical linear incision (n=20) and another group the alternative incision in an inverted "U" (modified Dandy) (n=20). Pain intensity was evaluated by numerical scale. A minimum follow-up of 3 months was carried out. The impact on quality of life was measured by the SF-36 questionnaire short version both before and after surgery. RESULTS: The average age was 46.1 years. The overall PCH index was 27.5% (n=11) of the patients. The incidence of pain in the group that received the classical incision (A) was 20% (n=4) and in group B was 35% (n=7). CONCLUSIONS: We found a higher rate of post-craniectomy headache in patients who underwent a "modified Dandy" incision. These are preliminary data of an undergoing study and we hope to obtain more representative information in the future. We recommend interdisciplinary follow up for the integral treatment of PCH.