OBJECTIVETo study the effect of endoscopic-assisted keyhole operation (EAKO) on treating hypertensive intracranial hematomas and the value of our patent dissector applied during the operation.

METHODSA total of 25 patients with hypertensive intracranial hematomas underwent endoscopic-assisted keyhole evacuation, during which, the viewing dissector, which had recently achieved national patent, was connected to the tip of endoscope and used to help dissect hematomas. The outcome of this procedure were compared with those of 22 comparable cases undergone conventional surgical treatment (large or smaller craniotomy). The items for comparison included the volume of remaining hematoma, the duration of operation, postsurgical Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS).

RESULTSRemaining hematoma was ascertained 48 h after operation with the use of computerized tomography (CT) scans. In the case of EAKO, nearly complete evacuation (> 84%) was achieved in 21 cases; GCS was evaluated at 7 d postsurgery resulting in GCS > 12 in 9 patients, GCS 9 - 12 in 12 patients and GCS < 9 in 4 patients. The follow-up period ranged from 6 to 21 mon. GOS was estimated at half a year and good recovery rate as defined by GOS was assigned to 76% of the EAKO patients. There are significant differences in the volumes of remaining hematomas and the duration of operation between the EAKO and craniotomy group (P < 0.05). In addition, better clinical outcomes were obtained in EAKO.

CONCLUSIONEAKO has the advantage of being minimally invasive, improving surgical results and the prognosis of hypertensive intracranial hematoma patients. We conclude that keyhole operation is a safe, effective alternative for removal of hypertensive intracranial hematoma, particularly during acute stages.

Aged ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; surgery ; Dissection ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Hematoma ; surgery ; Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neurosurgical Procedures ; methods

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of early total care (ETC) for polytrauma patients combined with thoracolumbar fractures.Methods A retrospective case control study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 137 polytrauma patients combined with thoracolumbar fractures admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and the Third People's Hospital of Zhang,jiagang from January 2012 to October 2015.There were 90 males and 47 females,aged 26-69 years,with an average age of 48.2 years.The patients were divided into ETC group (n =59) and TMC group (n =78).In the ETC group,physicians from different departments evaluated the patients and developed individualized therapeutic regimens to allow the patients to undergo surgery at early stage after injury.The TMC group preferentially stabilized the patient's condition or transferred the patients to specialist treatment,and then the surgery was performed electively after the condition of the patient was stable.The ISS of the ETC group was (22.15 ± 9.28)points,and that of the TMC group was (23.37 ± 10.74) points.All patients underwent conventional posterior pedicle screw internal fixation.For patients with burst fracture and nerve injury,posterior spinal canal decompression was performed.The thoracolumbar injury classification and severity score (TLICS),spinal load sharing classification (LSC),preoperative and postoperative Glasgow coma score (GCS),Frankel classification,hospitalization time and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.Results The TLICS scores of ETC group were significantly lower than those of TMC group (P ＜ 0.05) while the LSC scores showed no significant differences between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).ETC group had shorter hospitalization time [(11.8 ± 3.7)days ∶ (17.5 ±4.5)days] and lower pressure ulcer incidence [(5％ ∶ 21％)] than the TMC group (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01),but the former had significantly higher wound infection rate [(17％ ∶ 15％)] (P ＜ 0.05).There was no significant difference in pulmonary infection and deep venous thrombosis incidence between the two groups (P ＞ 0.05).No significant differences were found in the preoperative GCS scores between the two group (P ＞ 0.05) while the postoperative GCS scores of TMC group were higher than those of ETC group (P ＜ 0.01).Postoperative GCS scores in both groups were significantly higher than their preoperative GCS (P ＜ 0.05).The results of postoperative Frankel classification in the ETC group were as follows:Grade A in one patient,Grade B in one,Grade C in three,Grade D in four and Grade E in two patients,with an improvement rate of 82％.The results of postoperative Frankel classification in the TMC group were as follows:Grade A in three patients,Grade B in three,Grade C in three,Grade D in four and Grade E in four,with an improvement rate of 65％.Conclusions For polytrauma patients combined with thoracolumbar fractures,ETC can shorten hospitalization time,reduce the pressure ulcer incidence,and better facilitate the recovery of nerve function,yet with higher wound infection risk compared with TMC.TMC was preferred subjectively for patients with unstable thoracolumbar fractures and high TLICS.