Generally, the posterolateral approach had been recommended in case of extraforaminal disc herniation or lateral stenosis but it has been speculated that this procedure may be feasible to posterolateral disc herniation at the high lumbar levels of the L1-L2 interspace. Topographically, a posterolateral approach should be able to access anteromedial side of the spinal canal without the risk of the bony instability and damage to the neural structures. During the past one year period, three patients with high lumbar discs at the L1-L2 level were treated by the modified posterolateral approach. This article describeds the details of this approach with pertinent literature review.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Humans ; Spinal Canal

The cerebral arteriovenous malformation(AVM) rarely coexists with primary intracranial tumor. The authors experienced a patient with intracerebral hematoma due to AVM rupture in whom intracranial meningioma and intracranial aneurysms coexisted. The meningioma was located at convexity of right frontal lobe, and arteriovenous malformation at temporo-occipital lobe of same hemisphere with feeding from right middle cerebral artery, and three intracranial aneurysms exist at the cavernous portion of right internal carotid artery, AVM feeding artery, and intranidal of the AVM. The authors report a rare case of coexisted intracranial AVM, meningioma and aneurysms with review of literatures.
Aneurysm* ; Arteries ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Frontal Lobe ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations* ; Meningioma* ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Rupture

Lymphangioma is a rare benign developmental vascular tumor that may be found in orbit, skull and elsewhere in head and neck. Few cases of extension of this benign but insidious tumor posteriorly out of the bony orbital cavity have been reported. The patient was 40-year-old man complaining of proptosis of right eye for one month. Physical examination revealed severe right exophthalmus, impairment of eyeball movement in all directions. Visual acuity was much impaired and he could percept only light with right eye. CT and MRI scans showed intraconal and extraconal involvement of ill-defined, heterogenous mass with extension of the tumor posteriorly beyond the orbital cavity involving right frontal and temporal lobe, skull and subcutaneous tissue. The tumor was subtotally removed via orbito-frontal approach without damaging vital neural and orbital component. Then, orbital roof reconstruction and cranioplasty were done with resin. Successful surgical removal of lymphangioma is very difficult due to its severe infiltration to surrounding tissue and tendency to bleed during debulking. We report a rare case of orbital cavernous lymphangioma with intracranial extension treated with surgical decompression, with review of literatures.
Adult ; Decompression, Surgical ; Exophthalmos ; Head ; Humans ; Lymphangioma* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neck ; Orbit* ; Physical Examination ; Skull ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Temporal Lobe ; Visual Acuity

We present two cases of deep cerebral venous thrombosis(DCVT) with the totally occluded straight sinus. A 42-year-old female received with altered mentality . She has taken antihistamine for six years to treat the paranasal sinusitis. Another 34-year-old female who used the oral contraceptive for 11 months presented with acute behavior change . Both of these patients were diagnosed by computed tomography(CT), magnetic resonance(MR) imaging, and cerebral angiography. They were fully recovered with systemic urokinase thrombolysis followed by heparin therapy. We report that the intravenous thrombolysis was potentially effective management strategy in our cases of DCVT with the totally occluded straight sinus.
Adult ; Cerebral Angiography ; Female ; Heparin* ; Humans ; Sinusitis ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator* ; Venous Thrombosis*

Dural arteriovenous malformations(AVM) are not uncommon. Reports of intracranial dural AVM have been increasing but most of them deal with dural AVM in the region of the cavernous sinus, posterior fossa and tentorium, but those of the anterior cranial fossa are very rare. Recently, we experienced two cases of right frontal dural arteriovenous malformation fed mainly by both ethmoidal arteries. The angiographic appearance in these two cases is quite uniform. The nidus was located in the frontal dura, although their main feeders were dural arteries. They were drained through an intracerebral cortical vein associated with aneurysmal dilatation of proximal portion into superior sagittal sinus. Spontaneous intracerebral hematoma was the cause of the clinical symptoms. We report two cases of intracerebral hematoma, caused by dural AVM, which was successfully managed by surgical treatment.
Aneurysm ; Arteries ; Arteriovenous Malformations* ; Cavernous Sinus ; Cranial Fossa, Anterior* ; Dilatation ; Hematoma ; Superior Sagittal Sinus ; Veins

Gangliogliomas are benign tumors, composed of neoplastic astrocytes and nerve cells. They are rare, account for 0.4-6.25% of all primary central nervous system neoplasms. Gangliogliomas affect predominantly infants or young adults. Gangliogliomas are preferentially encountered supratentorially, predominantly affecting the temporal lobe. Spinal gangliogliomas affect predominantly the cervical spinal cord. We report a case of cervical ganglioglioma which was successfully removed surgically, with a review of literature.
Astrocytes ; Central Nervous System Neoplasms ; Ganglioglioma* ; Humans ; Infant ; Neurons ; Spinal Cord ; Temporal Lobe ; Young Adult

Vertebral artery injury is a rare complication of anterior cervical approach. We report two patients who suffered injury to vertebral artery during anterior cervical spine surgery. The mechanism of injury, their operative management, and the subsequent outcome were assessed and relevant literatures reviewed. The awareness of the possibility of vertebral artery injury is most important to prevent and it's occurrence is best avoided by a thorough understanding of the anatomical relationships of the artery, the spinal canal, and the vertebral body and careful use of surgical instruments.
Arteries ; Humans ; Spinal Canal ; Spine* ; Surgical Instruments ; Vertebral Artery*

A 69-year-old woman presented with right abducent nerve paresis caused by an ectopic pituitary adenoma invading the posterior wall of the sphenoid sinus. The tumor was removed via transsphenoidal approach. The histological diagnosis was invasive pituitary adenoma with bony destruction. The symptom was improved without complication. The authors present a rare case of ectopic pituitary adenoma with a literature review.
Abducens Nerve ; Aged ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Paresis ; Pituitary Neoplasms* ; Sphenoid Sinus*

A rare case of gliosarcoma with neurofibromatosis typeI is presented. The patient was a 33-year-old woman who had headache and vomiting for one week. Multiple neurofibromas over her whole body with many cafe-au-lait spots were present since childhood. At admission, she had no focal neurological deficit and ophthalmologic examination revealed bilateral Lisch nodules. Brain CT and MRI revealed a heterogeneously enhancing mass in the left fronto-parietal region with marked peritumoral edema and mass effect. The tumor was removed gross totally and a gliosarcoma was diagnosed histopathologically. Post operative course was uneventful with resolution of symptom, followed by radiotherapy with 60 Gy. A brief overview is given of this rare case together with the pertinent literature.
Adult ; Brain ; Cafe-au-Lait Spots ; Edema ; Female ; Gliosarcoma* ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurofibromatoses* ; Neurofibromatosis 1* ; Radiotherapy ; Vomiting

A rare case of multiple supratentorial and infratentorial hemangioblastomas in a 50-year old man is presented. There were neither manifestations of visceral tumors nor familial history. The two tumors were totally removed in two sessions and the diagnosis in both tumors were hemangioblastomas.
Diagnosis ; Hemangioblastoma* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; von Hippel-Lindau Disease