Prevention of postoperative complications after a transoral transclival approach to basilar aneurysms

1981 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 699-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru Hayakawa ◽  
Kiyoo Kamikawa ◽  
Toshiteru Ohnishi ◽  
Toshiki Yoshimine

✓ The authors describe the techniques employed in three patients with basilar artery aneurysms that were treated via the transoral transclival approach. To prevent the formation of cerebrospinal fluid fistulas and the risk of consequent meningitis, complete postoperative closure of the nasopharyngeal mucosa is essential. Long-term nasopharyngeal packing and continuous spinal drainage were found to be effective in these cases.

1984 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Fenstermaker ◽  
Uros Roessmann ◽  
Harold L. Rekate

✓ The radiographic features and long-term clinical outcome in three patients who presented at birth with a cystic suboccipital mass in direct communication with the fourth ventricle are reviewed. The pathological findings in a fourth infant who died are also discussed. All surviving infants were treated with cyst excision and diversion of cerebrospinal fluid. The prognosis in these children, followed from 6 to 20 years, surpasses that of the more common occipital encephalocele, for which this entity could be mistaken. The morphogenetic implications relative to more common congenital lesions in this location are discussed.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Mcgirt ◽  
Graeme Woodworth ◽  
George Thomas ◽  
Neil Miller ◽  
Michael Williams ◽  
...  

Object. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts effectively reverse symptoms of pseudotumor cerebri postoperatively, but long-term outcome has not been investigated. Lumboperitoneal (LP) shunts are the mainstay of CSF shunts for pseudotumor cerebri; however, image-guided stereotaxy and neuroendoscopy now allow effective placement of a ventricular catheter without causing ventriculomegaly in these cases. To date it remains unknown if CSF shunts provide long-term relief from pseudotumor cerebri and whether a ventricular shunt is better than an LP shunt. The authors investigated these possibilities. Methods. The authors reviewed the records of all shunt placement procedures that were performed for intractable headache due to pseudotumor cerebri at one institution between 1973 and 2003. Using proportional hazards regression analysis, predictors of treatment failure (continued headache despite a properly functioning shunt) were assessed, and shunt revision and complication rates were compared between LP and ventricular (ventriculoperitoneal [VP] or ventriculoatrial [VAT]) shunts. Forty-two patients underwent 115 shunt placement procedures: 79 in which an LP shunt was used and 36 in which a VP or VAT shunt was used. Forty patients (95%) experienced a significant improvement in their headaches immediately after the shunt was inserted. Severe headache recurred despite a properly functioning shunt in eight (19%) and 20 (48%) patients by 12 and 36 months, respectively, after the initial shunt placement surgery. Seventeen patients without papilledema and 19 patients in whom preoperative symptoms had occurred for longer than 2 years experienced recurrent headache, making patients with papilledema or long-term symptoms fivefold (relative risk [RR] 5.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5–17.8; p < 0.01) or 2.5-fold (RR 2.51, 95% CI 1.01–9.39; p = 0.05) more likely to experience headache recurrence, respectively. In contrast to VP or VAT shunts, LP shunts were associated with a 2.5-fold increased risk of shunt revision (RR 2.5, 95% CI 1.5–4.3; p < 0.001) due to a threefold increased risk of shunt obstruction (RR 3, 95% CI 1.5–5.7; p < 0.005), but there were similar risks between the two types of shunts for overdrainage (RR 2.3, 95% CI 0.8–7.9; p = 0.22), distal catheter migration (RR 2.1, 95% CI 0.3–19.3; p = 0.55), and shunt infection (RR 1.3, 95% CI 0.3–13.2; p = 0.75). Conclusions. Based on their 30-year experience in the treatment of these patients, the authors found that CSF shunts were extremely effective in the acute treatment of pseudotumor cerebri—associated intractable headache, providing long-term relief in the majority of patients. Lack of papilledema and long-standing symptoms were risk factors for treatment failure. The use of ventricular shunts for pseudotumor cerebri was associated with a lower risk of shunt obstruction and revision than the use of LP shunts. Using ventricular shunts in patients with papilledema or symptoms lasting less than 2 years should be considered for those with pseudotumor cerebri—associated intractable headache.


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichiro Tanaka ◽  
Shigeaki Kobayashi ◽  
Kazuhiro Hongo ◽  
Tsuyoshi Tada ◽  
Hisashi Nagashima ◽  
...  

Object. Neck clipping or coil embolization cannot always achieve complete neck obstruction in wide-necked basilar artery (BA) bifurcation aneurysms. Clipping of the aneurysm body, leaving a small aneurysm rest, is one clipping method used for this kind of aneurysm to maintain the patency of the posterior cerebral arteries and perforating vessels. However, the long-term efficacy of intentional body clipping has not been well investigated. The authors reviewed their experience with intentional body clipping of wide-necked BA bifurcation aneurysms to determine suitable clipping techniques and the long-term efficacy of the procedure.Methods. Complete neck occlusion was abandoned and body clipping intentionally performed in 17 patients with BA bifurcation aneurysms; wrapping of the aneurysm rest was made in seven cases. There were 10 ruptured aneurysms (58.8%), and the size of the aneurysm was larger than 10 mm in 11 patients (64.7%). The width between the clip blades and the base of the aneurysm neck was 1 mm in 11 cases, 2 mm in four, and 3 mm in two. Favorable outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale [GOS] Score 4 or 5) was obtained in 13 cases (76.5%) and unfavorable outcome (GOS Scores 1–3) in four cases (23.5%). Major causes of unfavorable outcome included injury to perforating arteries and major vessel occlusion following surgical manipulation, in addition to the primary damage caused by subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subarachnoid hemorrhage did not occur during a mean follow-up period of 7.4 ± 5.6 years (range 0.7–18.1 years) after treatment.Conclusions. Intentional body clipping of wide-necked BA aneurysms proved to be effective to prevent subarachnoid hemorrhage, although injury to perforating arteries remains problematic. The choice of complete neck clipping or body clipping should be established early during the microsurgical procedure to reduce the risk of injury to perforating vessels.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. 944-950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Lenfeldt ◽  
Nina Andersson ◽  
Aina Ågren-Wilsson ◽  
A. Tommy Bergenheim ◽  
Lars-Owe D. Koskinen ◽  
...  

Object. The appearance of numerous B waves during intracranial pressure (ICP) registration in patients with idiopathic adult hydrocephalus syndrome (IAHS) is considered to predict good outcome after shunt surgery. The aim of this study was to describe which physical parameters of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) system B-waves reflect and to find a method that could replace long-term B-wave analysis. Methods. Ten patients with IAHS were subjected to long-term registration of ICP and a lumbar constant-pressure infusion test. The B-wave presence, CSF outflow resistance (Rout), and relative pulse pressure coefficient (RPPC) were assessed using computerized analysis. The RPPC was introduced as a parameter reflecting the joint effect of elastance and pulsatory volume changes on ICP and was determined by relating ICP pulse amplitudes to mean ICP. Conclusions. The B-wave presence on ICP registration correlates strongly with RPPC (r = 0.91, p < 0.001, 10 patients) but not with CSF Rout. This correlation indicates that B waves—like RPPC—primarily reflect the ability of the CSF system to reallocate and store liquid rather than absorb it. The RPPC-assessing lumbar short-term CSF pulse pressure method could replace the intracranial long-term B-wave analysis.


1974 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
George S. Allen ◽  
Lavell M. Henderson ◽  
Shelley N. Chou ◽  
Lyle A. French

✓ In vitro experiments were performed to determine the contractile activity of human serum and cerebrospinal fluid on the canine basilar artery. The majority of contractile activity in these CSF samples, which were collected 2 to 7 days following a subarachnoid hemorrhage, was proven to be due to serotonin. Serotonin was capable of producing a prolonged contraction of the artery depending on its activity. Methylsergide reversibly blocked the artery's response to serotonin and caused a contraction of the basilar artery. Phenoxybenzamine irreversibly blocked the basilar artery's response to serotonin, serum, and CSF.


1987 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemente Robles ◽  
Ana Maria Sedano ◽  
Noe Vargas-Tentori ◽  
Sonia Galindo-Virgen

✓ The long-term results of praziquantel therapy in 141 patients with neurocysticercosis are presented. Seventy-five patients (53%) were considered to be cured because the cysts or nodules disappeared or became calcified following praziquantel treatment and the patients were asymptomatic at the end of a 5-year follow-up period. An additional 35 patients (24.8%) improved clinically and radiographically. The intraventricular Cysticercus cysts of five patients in this group were not affected by praziquantel and had to be surgically removed. The remaining 31 patients (21.9%) were unchanged or became worse probably because, prior to therapy, Cysticercus larvae had caused tissue damage. The fact that praziquantel did not affect intraventricular cysts suggests a low concentration of the drug in the cerebrospinal fluid. Surgery continues to be an important tool in the treatment of cysticercosis to remove parasites that do not respond to praziquantel therapy as well as for the relief of intracranial hypertension.


2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 750-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Lundkvist ◽  
Anders Eklund ◽  
Bo Kristensen ◽  
Markku Fagerlund ◽  
Lars-Owe D. Koskinen ◽  
...  

Object. Few studies have been performed to investigate the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hydrodynamic profile in patients with idiopathic adult hydrocephalus syndrome (IAHS) before and after shunt implantation. The authors compared the in vivo CSF hydrodynamic properties, including the degree of gravity-induced CSF flow, of a shunt with an antisiphon device with a standard shunt. Methods. Twelve patients with IAHS underwent insertion of shunts with Delta valves. Clinical testing, magnetic resonance imaging, and CSF hydrodynamic investigations were conducted with intracranial pressure (ICP), gravity effect, and pressure—flow curve of the shunt estimated at baseline and at 3 and 12 months postoperatively. No shunt was revised. Despite postoperative clinical improvement in all patients who received Delta valves, the mean ICP was only moderately reduced (mean decrease at 3 months 0.3 kPa [p = 0.02], at 12 months 0.2 kPa [not significant]). Patients with the greatest increase in ICP preoperatively had the most pronounced decrease postoperatively. The hydrostatic effect of the Delta valves was significantly lower than with the Hakim shunts (0.1–0.2 kPa compared with 0.6 kPa). The increased conductance (that is, lowered resistance) was up to 14 times higher with the Delta valves compared with preoperative levels. Conclusions. The function of a CSF shunt may be more complicated than previously thought; the subcutaneous pressure acting on the antisiphon device can modify the shunt characteristics. A compensatory increase in CSF production may counteract the increased outflow through the shunt. The improved CSF outflow conductance may increase the intracranial compliance and thereby dampen a pathological ICP waveform.


1979 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard P. White ◽  
Shang-Po Huang ◽  
A. Ainsworth Hagen ◽  
James T. Robertson

✓ The effect of phenoxybenzamine (PBZ) on cerebral vasospasm of the basilar artery induced by the injection of 2 ml of blood into the cisterna magna of dogs was assessed in chronic experiments. The presence of vasospasm was documented arteriographically. In one group of animals, 12 mg/kg of PBZ was given intravenously 2 hours before the intracisternal injection of blood to ascertain whether this drug would prevent the development of vasospasm for 24 hours. In another group of animals a 10−2M solution of PBZ was given intracisternally 15 minutes after vasospasm was produced, and again 24 hours afterward, to determine if the drug would reverse an existing spasm. These drug-treated animals were compared with controls which were treated with saline alone. The results indicate that the drug treatment was not statistically superior to saline in any of the groups studied. The finding that saline injected into the cisterna magna reversed the cerebral vasospasm illustrates the importance of this procedure in evaluating effectiveness of drugs and confirms the original observation that washing the cerebrospinal fluid with saline can terminate an experimentally induced vasospasm. Moreover, the fact that intracisternal injections of saline were more effective when given soon after the establishment of vasospasm than when injected 24 hours afterward supports the conclusion of others that the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm changes with time. The results also indicate that the presence of cerebral vasospasm in some animals did not prevent the return of normal behavior.


1998 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Schwartz ◽  
B. Leonard Holman ◽  
Joseph F. Polak ◽  
Basem M. Garada ◽  
Marc S. Schwartz ◽  
...  

Object. The study was conducted to determine the association between dual-isotope single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) scanning and histopathological findings of tumor recurrence and survival in patients treated with high-dose radiotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme. Methods. Studies in which SPECT with 201Tl and 99mTc-hexamethypropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) were used were performed 1 day before reoperation in 47 patients with glioblastoma multiforme who had previously been treated by surgery and high-dose radiotherapy. Maximum uptake of 201Tl in the lesion was expressed as a ratio to that in the contralateral scalp, and uptake of 99mTc-HMPAO was expressed as a ratio to that in the cerebellar cortex. Patients were stratified into groups based on the maximum radioisotope uptake values in their tumor beds. The significance of differences in patient gender, histological characteristics of tissue at reoperation, and SPECT uptake group with respect to 1-year survival was elucidated by using the chi-square statistic. Comparisons of patient ages and time to tumor recurrence as functions of 1-year survival were made using the t-test. Survival data at 1 year were presented according to the Kaplan—Meier method, and the significance of potential differences was evaluated using the log-rank method. The effects of different variables (tumor type, time to recurrence, and SPECT grouping) on long-term survival were evaluated using Cox proportional models that controlled for age and gender. All patients in Group I (201Tl ratio < 2 and 99mTc-HMPAO ratio < 0.5) showed radiation changes in their biopsy specimens: they had an 83.3% 1-year survival rate. Group II patients (201T1 ratio < 2 and 99mTc-HMPAO ratio of ≥ 0.5 or 201Tl ratio between 2 and 3.5 regardless of 99mTc-HMPAO ratio) had predominantly infiltrating tumor (66.6%); they had a 29.2% 1-year survival rate. Almost all of the patients in Group III (201Tl ratio > 3.5 and 99mTc-HMPAO ratio ≥ 0.5) had solid tumor (88.2%) and they had a 6.7% 1-year survival rate. Histological data were associated with 1-year survival (p < 0.01); however, SPECT grouping was more closely associated with 1-year survival (p < 0.001) and was the only variable significantly associated with long-term survival (p < 0.005). Conclusions. Dual-isotope SPECT data correlate with histopathological findings made at reoperation and with survival in patients with malignant gliomas after surgical and high-dose radiation therapy.


1981 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 771-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomio Sasaki ◽  
Sei-itsu Murota ◽  
Susumu Wakai ◽  
Takao Asano ◽  
Keiji Sano

✓ Transformation of arachidonic acid into prostaglandins was investigated in the basilar artery by incubating sections of artery with carbon-14-labeled arachidonic acid. Thin-layer radiochromatography revealed that, in normal canine basilar arteries, 14C-arachidonic acid was transformed mainly to 6-ketoprostaglandin (PG)F1α, a spontaneous metabolite of prostacyclin (PGI2). Among other prostaglandins, only a small amount of PGF2α was detected, whereas PGD2, PGE2, and thromboxane B2 were not. Arteries removed on Days 3 and 8 after subarachnoid blood injection showed a prostaglandin synthesis profile similar to that in the normal cerebral artery. In borate-buffered saline (0.1M borate buffer, pH 9.0/0.15M NaCl = 1:9, vol/vol), canine basilar artery produced a PGI2-like substance that inhibited adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-induced platelet aggregation. Its anti-aggregatory activity was completely abolished by acidification. Aspirin likewise inhibited production of the anti-aggregatory substance. From these results, it was concluded that the anti-aggregatory activity was due solely to the production of PGI2 by the arterial specimen. Based on the above results, PGI2 biosynthetic activity in the cerebral artery exposed to subarachnoid blood injection was bioassayed by measuring the inhibitory activity of the incubation product upon ADP-induced platelet aggregation following incubation of the arteries in borate-buffered saline for 5 to 30 minutes at 20°C, using synthetic PGI2-Na as a standard. The synthetic activity of PGI2 in the artery exposed to subarachnoid blood injection had diminished remarkably by Days 3 and 8. This diminution of PGI2 synthesis in the cerebral artery may be involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm.


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