Outcomes of half-width vertical rectus transposition augmented with posterior fixation sutures for sixth cranial nerve palsy

AIM: To describe the experience with half-width vertical muscles transposition (VRT) augmented with posterior fixation sutures. METHODS: The clinical charts of all patients, who underwent half-width VRT augmented with posterior fixation sutures for sixth cranial nerve palsy from January 2003 to December 2018, were retrospectively reviewed. For each patient, pre- and post-operatively, the largest measured angle was used for the calculations, usually resulting with the angle for distance, except in young infants, where measurements were made at near fixation using the Krimsky test. RESULTS: Fifteen patients met the inclusion criteria for the study, of them 9 (60.0%) had also medial rectus muscle recession at the time of surgery. Mean follow-up period was 21.4±23.2mo (range 1.5-82mo). Preoperative mean esotropia was 51.3±19.7 prism diopter (PD; range 20-90 PD). Postoperative mean deviation on final follow-up was 7.7±20.2 PD (range -40 to 35 PD; P=0.018). In all patients with preoperative abnormal head position, improvement was noted. Ten (66.7%) patients had improvement in abduction and 10 (66.7%) patients reported improvement in their diplopia, by final follow-up. The addition of medial rectus recession was correlated with a larger change in postoperative horizontal deviation compared to baseline (P=0.026). Two (13.3%) patients developed a vertical deviation in the immediate postoperative period which had resolved in one of them. CONCLUSION: Half-width VRT augmented with posterior fixation suture, with or without medial rectus muscle recession, is an effective and safe procedure for esotropia associated with sixth cranial nerve palsy. A major improvement in the angle of deviation is expected. Most patients will have improvement in their abnormal head position and diplopia.

Case Report: Unilateral Sixth Cranial Nerve Palsy Associated With COVID-19 in a 2-year-old Child

Children have been described to show neurological symptoms in acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). We present a 2-year-old boy's clinical course of unilateral acute sixth nerve palsy in the context of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Onset of the palsy in the otherwise healthy boy occurred seven days after symptoms attributed to acute infection had subsided respectively 3 weeks after onset of respiratory symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG was detected in serum as well as in cerebrospinal fluid. The patient showed a prolonged but self-limiting course with a full recovery after three and a half months. This case illustrates in a detailed chronological sequence that sixth cranial nerve involvement may occur as post-infectious, self-limiting complication of pediatric SARS-CoV-2-infection thus expanding the neurological spectrum of symptoms for children with COVID-19. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of post-infectious sixth nerve palsy related to SARS-CoV-2-infection particularly in view of recent respiratory tract infection or confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2-infection amongst the patient's close contacts.

Tolosa-Hunt syndrome – A case of treatable headache

Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome is characterised by headache and ophthalmoplegia due to involvement of third, fourth, sixth cranial nerve. The exact aetiology is not known. MRI brain is diagnostic test of choice. Treatment is mainly using corticosteroids. Prognosis is good with rapid recovery from headache and opthalmoplegia. There are only few case reports Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome in children.

Malignant idiopathic intracranial hypertension revealed a hidden primary spinal leptomeningeal medulloblastoma

Frequently the cause of raised intracranial pressure remains unresolved and rarely is related to spinal tumours, moreover less to spinal medulloblastoma without primary brain focus. An 18-year-old woman had a 3-month history of headache and impaired vision. Neurological examination revealed bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsies with bilateral papilloedema of grade III. No focal brain or spine lesion was found on imaging. Consecutive lumbar punctures showed high opening pressure and subsequent increasing protein level. Meningeal biopsy was negative. At one point, she developed an increasing headache, vomiting and back pain. Spine MRI showed diffuse nodular leptomeningeal enhancement with the largest nodule at T6–T7. Malignant cells were detected in cerebrospinal fluid. She underwent laminectomy with excisional biopsy, and pathology showed medulloblastoma WHO grade IV. She was treated with chemotherapy and craniospinal irradiation and made a good recovery.

Abducens Nerve Palsy as the First Manifestation of Type Two Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus has varied presentations at different times from onset. One of the uncommon presentations is cranial nerve palsy secondary to microvascular ischemia. Approximately 20% of isolated abducens nerve palsies are secondary to vascular microangiopathy. Clinical Case: A 53-year-old female with no significant past medical history presented to the emergency department with concerns of double vision. The patient first noticed her symptoms five days prior to presentation. The patient endorsed blurry vision and stated that she has double vision in certain gazes that resolves with shutting either eye. Furthermore, she has also developed headaches during that period, described as a pressure-like sensation in her forehead and behind her eyes. She otherwise denied any tearing, redness, or pain. On review of systems, she denied numbness, tingling, changes in hearing, changes in speech, or extremity weakness. Due to the persistence of symptoms the patient presented to the emergency department. On exam, the patient’s vitals were normal. Pupils were equal and briskly reactive to light with no relative afferent pupillary defect. External examination was unremarkable without scalp tenderness, proptosis, or ptosis. Color vision was intact. Ocular motility testing revealed limited abduction of the left eye causing double vision on lateral gaze. Confrontation visual fields were full in each eye. Bilateral lower extremity exam revealed decreased sensation in the sole of the foot. The rest of the physical exam was unremarkable. Laboratory work revealed blood glucose level of 305 mg/dl (Reference range 70–99 mg/dl). HBA1C was 12.3% (Reference range 3.8–5.6%). CT head and CTA of the neck was performed and were unremarkable. Given the normal imaging and findings on examinations, her ocular motor findings were attributed to diabetes mellitus. The patient was started on insulin, aspirin, and received diabetic education for lifestyle modification, and was scheduled for outpatient follow up. The patient’s acute isolated left sixth cranial nerve palsy was most likely owing to microvascular ischemia from previously undiagnosed diabetes mellitus. A study of 59 patients with an isolated sixth cranial nerve palsy showed a 6-fold increase in the odds of having diabetes compared with controls.(1) Conclusion: Given the infrequent presentation of Diabetes with Abducens nerve palsy, diagnosis is usually delayed with the expense of ordering costly investigations that put a financial and psychological burden on patients. Thus, we urge clinicians’ awareness when encountering cases of isolated cranial nerve palsies. References: 1) Sanders SK, Kawasaki A, Purvin VA. Long-term prognosis in patients with vasculopathic sixth nerve palsy. Am J Ophthalmol. 2002;134(1):81–84.