Search

Background The Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy Success Score (ETVSS) is based on the clinical features of hydrocephalus except for radiological findings. A previous study suggested that transependymal edema (TEE) as a radiological finding may be a reliable predictor of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) success in patients of all ages. We aimed to investigate whether TEE on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging can predict ETV success in pediatric patients. Methods Medical and radiological records of all pediatric patients with an initial ETV in our hospital between 2013 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Results This study included 32 patients with hydrocephalus. The median age at surgery was 10.0 years (interquartile range: 5.6–12.9 years). There were 20 patients in the high ETVSS (90–80) group and 12 patients in the moderate ETVSS (70–50) group. The median follow-up period was 29.0 months (interquartile range: 12.9–46.2 months). The ETV success rate at the final follow-up was 81%. Preoperative brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed TEE in 20 patients and third ventricle floor ballooning in 25 patients, of whom 19 (95%) and 22 (88%), respectively, achieved successful ETV. Patients with TEE had a significantly better outcome than patients without TEE (95% vs. 58%, P = 0.018). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the presence of TEE (odds ratio 13.6, 95% confidence interval 1.3–137.5, P = 0.027) is a significant predictor of ETV success. Conclusions In our cohort with a high or moderate ETVSS, the ETV success rate in patients with TEE was significantly higher than in patients without TEE, suggesting that TEE may be a useful predictor of ETV success in pediatric hydrocephalus.

Introduction: Although Ventriculoatrial (VA) shunt is one of the oldest solution for hydrocephalus, after the recognition of serious complication and operative difficulties, VA shunt procedure has fallen into disrepute. Since 1970s, most of neurosurgeons has changed their practice from VA shunt to ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt. It provides a prolong relief of intracranial pressure and easy to be performed. However, shunt revision may still be expected due to shunt infection, obstruction, migration and so on. When the peritoneum is precluded and no more available owing to the intra-abdominal adhesions, local sepsis and scarring from the previous surgery, VA shunt can be one of the choices to do the shunt revision. Whenever laparotomy for VP shunt has high possibility of serious complications and operative difficulties due to preexisting peritoneal compolication, VA shunt can be a safe and effective alternative in the neurosurgeon’s armamentarium for the cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) drainage. Case Report: In this case report, we described a case of premature 6-month-old baby boy with hydrocephalus, whose abdominal cavity had the previous history of peritonitis and stoma placement. Result: Because his abdominal condition excluded placement of a distal catheter for VP shunt, VA shunt was planned as alternative procedure for VP shunt. Conclusion: Role of VA shunt in the era of modern neurosurgery is also discussed based on the literature review.

Introductions A specific mutation in the ACTA2 gene is known to cause multisystemic smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome, which is associated with cerebrovascular diseases and various organ disorders. Cerebral infarctions resulting from severe vasculopathy can be refractory; however, there are no previous reports describing the detailed clinical course of recurrent cerebral infarctions due to an ACTA2 mutation. Herein, we report a patient with an ACTA2 mutation who experienced multiple refractory cerebral infarctions in early childhood. Patient description The patient was aged 1 year and 5 months at her first episode of cerebral infarction. Arteriopathy due to an ACTA2 mutation was diagnosed based on the characteristic cerebrovascular findings and abnormal physical findings, such as bilateral dilated pupils. Bilateral encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis and encephalogaleosynangiosis were performed after the first episode. Because the cerebral infarctions recurred postoperatively, administration of cilostazol followed by bosentan was started. However, despite these treatments she experienced seven cerebral infarctions by age 2 years and 6 months. Interpretation Cerebral infarctions in patients with a specific ACTA2 mutation can occur even in early childhood, recur frequently, and cause severe motor and cognitive impairment. Physicians should be highly aware of this disease and be ready to provide the medical and surgical interventions necessary to minimize the disabling sequelae.

We report a case of a ruptured mycotic cerebral aneurysm caused by Nocardia infection. A 22-year-old immunocompromised woman with adult-onset Still's disease developed a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Digital subtraction angiography revealed a small aneurysm at the M2-3 bifurcation of the right middle cerebral artery. Cardiac ultrasonography showed vegetation at the posterior cardiac wall, suspecting infective endocarditis (IE). Gram-positive filamentous bacteria were observed in the necrotic tissue surrounding the aneurysm obtained during trapping surgery. Long-term blood culture showed that the cause of her cerebral mycotic aneurysm was nocardiosis. A mycotic ruptured cerebral aneurysm is an important cause of SAH in immunocompromised patients. Early diagnosis of IE, detection of gram-positive rods by Gram staining, and long-term culture to identify the bacteria is crucial in diagnosing nocardiosis.

A 10-year-old, male patient with a head injury caused by a fall presented with chemosis, exophthalmos, right orbital bruit, and intracranial venous reflux, based on which posttraumatic carotid cavernous fistula (CCF) was diagnosed. Coil embolization was semi-urgently performed for the dangerous venous drainage. After the treatment, right abducens nerve palsy newly appeared. To treat the neurological symptoms and preserve the parent artery, curative endovascular treatment using a pipeline embolization device (PED) with coil embolization was performed after starting dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). The CCF and abducens nerve palsy finally resolved, and the internal carotid artery (ICA) was remodeled. Use of the PED with adjunctive coil embolization was effective and safe in the present case of pediatric traumatic direct CCF.

Benign spinal meningiomas have good prognoses, with low rates of recurrence and no cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dissemination. However, we experienced an extremely rare case of initially benign non-dura-based spinal meningioma that showed multiple CSF disseminated lesions, which progressed for 14 years. A 29-year-old woman without neurofibromatosis presented with progressing dysesthesia in her lower limbs, low back pain, and intermittent claudication. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an intradural extramedullary mass lesion at the Th10/11 level. The patient underwent a tumor resection. Intraoperative findings indicated that the tumor had no dural attachment. Histopathological diagnosis after gross total removal was microcystic meningioma (grade I, WHO 2007). Seven years after the first operation, other lesions appeared at the levels of Th11/12, L1, and L2/3 in MRI. These tumors were slow growing and became symptomatic; thus, a second surgery was performed 14 years after the first operation. The histopathological diagnosis was atypical meningioma (grade II, WHO 2007). Benign spinal meningiomas show CSF dissemination extremely rarely, although some authors have reported non-dura-based intraspinal clear-cell meningiomas showing CSF dissemination. However, even in cases of WHO grade I, neurosurgeons should pay attention to late CSF dissemination and malignant transformation after surgical removal of non-dura-based intraspinal meningiomas.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid carcinoma and has a relatively favorable prognosis. PTC brain metastases are rare, occurring in 0.1-5% of cases in previous studies. In the present study, we treated 5 cases of PTC brain metastasis in our institute and retrospectively evaluated these patients. A retrospective database was generated from the patient medical records of our institution for the years between 1976 and 2011. The mean patient age at diagnosis was 64.6 years and the average duration from PTC resection to the detection of a brain metastasis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) was 91.7 months. The patients were treated with various combinations of surgery and radiation therapy. All 5 patients died and the mean overall survival following the diagnosis of a brain metastasis was 9.0 months. One patient succumbed to an intratumoral hemorrhage of the metastatic brain tumor. The remaining patients died following metastasis to other organs. Our findings suggest that PTC brain metastases may occur at the end-stage of patient treatment and result in an unfavorable prognosis. Patients with brain metastases also succumbed to the development of metastases to the fetal organs rather than brain.

It is generally accepted that the first choice of treatment for spinal meningiomas is “radical” surgical removal. However, Simpson grade I removal is sometimes difficult, especially in cases with ventral dural attachment, because of the risk of spinal cord damage or the difficulty of dural repair after radical resection. In addition, there is no consensus on a surgical strategy for radicality, whether or not Simpson grade I resection should be performed in all cases of spinal meningioma. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed clinical and radiological data of surgically treated 14 patients with spinal meningioma, to assess the influence of the Simpson grade to tumor recurrences during long-term follow-up (median 8.2 years, 1.3–27.9). The number of patients in Simpson grades I, II, III, and IV were 2, 8, 0, and 3, respectively; Simpson grading was not applicable to one patient with non-dura-based meningioma. No postoperative permanent neurological worsening was encountered. The recurrence rate was 21.4% (3 out of 14 cases). Of these 3 recurrent cases, 1 was a case of non-dura-based meningioma and another was a case of neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2); both of them are known as risk factors for recurrence after surgical removal of spinal meningiomas. Considering this background of these two recurrences, the clinical results of the present study are consistent with previous results. Therefore, we propose that surgeons do not always have to achieve Simpson grade I removal if dural repair is complicated and postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage or neurological worsening are estimated after resection of dural attachment and repair of dural defect.

Purposes: Anti-edema effect of bevacizumab was evaluated using the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of peritumoral edema associated with regional cerebral blood flow (rCBV) of the tumor.

To evaluate the efficacy of intraparenchymal brain tumor biopsy using endoscopy and a navigation system (navigation-guided endoscopic biopsy) as a diagnostic tool, a case series of intraparenchymal tumor biopsies was reviewed. Navigation-guided endoscopic biopsy was applied in 9 cases, stereotactic needle biopsy in 16 cases, and open biopsy with or without navigation system in 34 cases. In all biopsy cases, 84.7% of biopsy points were sampled accurately, and 93.2% of diagnoses by biopsy were correct. Comparison of each type of biopsy showed that the resected volumes in navigation-guided endoscopic biopsy and open biopsy tended to be larger than those in stereotactic biopsy, and the mean operation time for the open biopsy procedure was the longest. To define the most applicable device or examination method to increase sampling accuracy, various factors were analyzed in 59 procedures. Navigation-guided endoscopic biopsy was the most accurate of the three types of biopsy, although the statistical difference was not significant. Older patients, histological diagnosis of high-grade glioma or malignant lymphoma, positive photodynamic diagnosis, and positive intraoperative pathology were significant factors in improving the sampling accuracy. Navigation-guided endoscopic biopsy could provide a larger sample volume within a relatively short operation time. The biopsy can be easily combined with both photodynamic diagnosis and intraoperative pathology, significantly improving the histological diagnostic yield.

A 70-year-old woman with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) presented with a primary cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) with anaplastic features manifesting as worsening headache and ataxia. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging on admission showed a diffusely enhanced solid mass in the left cerebellar hemisphere, although MR imaging showed no abnormalities 2 years before admission. Histological examination after gross total removal of the tumor exhibited a biphasic pattern with marked Rosenthal fibers, together with some malignant features including frequent mitoses and invasive growth pattern. The final diagnosis was PA with anaplastic features. Previous PA cases with mitotic activity and endothelial proliferation, and/or palisading necrosis have been classified as anaplastic PA (or PA with anaplastic features). In the present case, the tumor histology corresponded to this designation. The present case indicates that PAs with anaplastic features can occur in patients with NF-1.