Complications Following Burr Hole Craniostomy and Closed-System Drainage for Subdural Lesions.

Objective: Burr hole craniostomy and closed-system drainage (BCD) is a common surgical procedure in the field of neurosurgery. However, complications following BCD have seldom been reported. The purpose of this study was to report our experiences regarding complications following BCD for subdural lesions.

Ganglioneuroma of the Sacrum.

Presacral ganglioneuromas are extremely rare benign tumors and fewer than 20 cases have been reported in the literature. Ganglioneuromas are difficult to be differentiated preoperatively from tumors such as schwannomas, meningiomas, and neurofibromas with imaging modalities. The retroperitoneal approach for resection of presacral ganglioneuroma was performed for gross total resection of the tumor.

Double crush syndrome caused by cervical spondylosis and vertebral artery loop.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to report a successful treatment experience in a rare case of simultaneous cervical nerve root compression by spondylotic cervical foraminal stenosis and a vertebral artery loop.

Methods: 51-year-old man presented with a 4-year history of left-sided cervical pain radiating to the left shoulder with progressive exacerbation of weakness on left shoulder girdle muscles for 7 months. The patient had no history of trauma.

Traumatic Pseudoaneurysm Related to Calcified Nodules of Cerebral Convexity Dura Mater in an American College Football Player.

Repeated concussion is common among football players; however, these minor blunt head trauma rarely result in serious complications. We report a case of a young college football player who presented acute subdural hematoma, cerebral edema, and seizure due to pseudoaneurysm rupture. The pseudoaneurysm, located at the cortical branch of the middle cerebral artery, was speculated to be formed by dural calcification and adhesion with the underlying brain, possibly due to repeated concussions.

Epithelioid Sarcoma in the Cervical Spine: A Case Report.

Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare and highly malignant soft tissue neoplasm that most commonly occurs in the long bones. This uncommon tumor has a poor clinical outcome, and the modality of its treatment has not yet been fully established. The authors report an extremely rare presentation of epithelioid sarcoma in the cervical spine, along with its clinical progression, imaging, and pathology.

Recurrent posterior circulation infarction caused by anomalous occipital bony process in a young patient.

Background: Structural anomaly of the cervical spine or craniocervical junction has been reported as one of the rare causes of ischemic stroke. We report a case of a young patient with recurrent posterior circulation infarction that may have been associated with an anomalous occipital bony process compressing the vertebral artery.

Case Presentation: A 23-year-old man experienced recurrent posterior circulation infarction 5 times over a period of 5 years.

Endovascular management of great vessel injury following lumbar microdiscectomy.

Great vessel injury is a rare but well-known complication of lumbar disc surgery, which may result in acute or fatal outcomes of delayed diagnosis. Thus, early detection and proper management is vital. The authors report a case of retroperitoneal hemorrhage with arteriovenous fistula and pseudoaneurysm after lumbar microdiscectomy.

Glomus tumor in the femoral nerve.

The glomus tumor of the peripheral nerve is one of the mesenchymal tumors originating in the epineurium, and is extremely rare. A 56-year-old man presented complaining of lancinating pain on the left thigh, which was provoked by pressure or exercise. Subsequent image study revealed a mass in the femoral nerve.

Multiple spinal cord recurrences of an intracranial ependymoma after 14 years.

Ependymoma can spread via cerebrospinal fluid, but late spinal recurrences of intracranial tumor are very rare. We describe a case of a 33-year-old male who presented with multiple, delayed, recurrent lesions in the spinal cord from an intracranial ependymoma. The patient underwent gross total resection and postoperative radiation therapy 14 years prior to visit for a low grade ependymoma in the 4th ventricle.

Eosinophilic myelitis in the cervical cord mimicking intramedullary cord tumor.

Eosinophilic myelitis (EM) or atopic myelitis is a rare disease characterized by a myelitic condition in the spinal cord combined with allergic process. This disease has specific features of elevated serum IgE level, active reaction to mite specific antigen and stepwise progression of mostly the sensory symptoms. Toxocariasis can be related with a form of EM.

Tiny aneurysms treated with single coil: morphological comparison between bare platinum coil and matrix coil.

Objective: We analyzed the angiographic results of tiny aneurysms treated with various kinds of single coils including polyglycolic-polylactic acid (PGLA)-coated coils.

Methods: Forty aneurysms with diameters measuring less than 4mm were treated with a single bare platinum, Matrix1, or Matrix2 coil. Most of the aneurysms were treated with a 2 mm diameter coil, except for seven treated with a 3 mm coil, four treated with a 2.

Risk factors predicting the new symptomatic vertebral compression fractures after percutaneous vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty.

Introduction: Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) are effective procedures to alleviate pain caused by osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). New vertebral compression fracture (NVCF) has been noted as a potential late sequela of the procedures. The incidence of NVCFs and affecting risk factors were investigated.

Cervical epidural lymphangioma presenting as a hemorrhagic cyst: a case report.

Study Design: A case report.

Objective: We report a case of epidural lymphangioma in the cervical spine, and it manifested as a hemorrhagic cyst.

Summary Of Background Data: Intraspinal lymphangioma is an uncommon tumor with only a few cases reported in the literature.

Traumatic entrapment of the vertebrobasilar junction due to a longitudinal clival fracture: a case report.

Vertebrobasilar junction entrapment due to a clivus fracture is a rare clinical observation. The present case report describes a 54-yr-old man who sustained a major craniofacial injury. The patient displayed a stuporous mental state (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS]=8) and left hemiparesis (Grade 3).

MR angiographic evaluation is limited in intracranial aneurysms embolized with Nexus coils.

Introduction: Nexus coils are a type of bioactive coil used to embolize intracranial aneurysms. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of the noninvasive follow-up of aneurysms treated with Nexus coils by means of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).

Methods: Three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight (TOF) MRA images of patients treated with Nexus coils (the Nexus coil group) or bare platinum coils (the control group) were compared for the severity and frequency of artifacts.

Spinal cord hemangioblastoma: surgical strategy and clinical outcome.

Background And Aim: The authors present a retrospective analysis of 14 patients treated for spinal cord hemangioblastoma (SCH). This study was conducted to evaluate and compare the difference of functional outcomes associated with the extent of surgical removal of the tumor.

Methods: Eleven patients were male and three were female, with a mean age of 37.

Surgical outcome and prognostic factors of spinal intramedullary ependymomas in adults.

The goal of treatment for spinal ependymoma is complete removal with minimal postoperative neurological deficit. The authors correlated the results of surgical management for spinal cord ependymoma with the rate of postoperative disease progression and the prognostic factors. Thirty-one cases of spinal ependymomas, surgically treated between 1979 and 1998, were retrospectively analyzed.