Pediatric intracranial aneurysms are rare and differ from aneurysms in adults in terms of location, etiology, natural history and management. This is a case report of giant aneurysm in a 10-year old patient presenting with symptoms of headache and vomiting. Cerebral catheter angiogram revealed a large aneurysm in the left middle cerebral artery, M1 segment. The patient underwent left pterional craniotomy, clip reconstruction of the patent artery, and aneurysmectomy. Post operatively the patient had an unremarkable course and was discharged improved after 1 week. Cerebral catheter angiogram was performed after 2 months and revealed no residual aneurysm.
Craniotomy

In subarachnoid hemorrhage following traumatic brain injury (TBI), the high intracisternal pressure drives the cerebrospinal fluid into the brain parenchyma, causing cerebral edema. Basal cisternostomy involves opening the basal cisterns to atmospheric pressure and draining cerebrospinal fluid in an attempt to reverse the edema. We describe a case of basal cisternostomy combined with decompressive craniectomy. A 35-year-old man with severe TBI following a road vehicle accident presented with acute subdural hematoma, Glasgow coma scale score of 6, fixed pupils and no corneal response. Opening of the basal cisterns and placement of a temporary cisternal drain led to immediate relaxation of the brain. The patient had a Glasgow coma scale score of 15 on postoperative day 6 and was discharged on day 10. We think basal cisternostomy is a feasible and effective procedure that should be considered in the management of TBI.
Adult ; Brain ; Brain Edema ; Brain Injuries, Traumatic/surgery* ; Decompressive Craniectomy/methods* ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Male ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of postoperative serious cardiovascular adverse events (CAE) on outcomes of patients undergoing craniotomy for intracranial aneurysm clipping. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted among the patients undergoing craniotomy for intracranial aneurysm clipping during the period from December, 2016 to December, 2017, who were divided into CAE group and non-CAE group according to the occurrence of Clavien-Dindo grade ≥II CAEs after the surgery. The perioperative clinical characteristics of the patients, complications and neurological functions during hospitalization, and mortality and neurological functions at 1 year postoperatively were evaluated. The primary outcome was mortality within 1 year after the surgery. The secondary outcomes were Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) score at 1 year, lengths of postoperative hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score at discharge. RESULTS: A total of 361 patients were enrolled in the final analysis, including 20 (5.5%) patients in CAE group and 341 in the non-CAE group. No significant differences were found in the patients' demographic characteristics, clinical history, or other postoperative adverse events between the two groups. The 1-year mortality was significantly higher in CAE group than in the non-CAE group (20.0% vs 5.6%, P=0.01). Logistics regression analysis showed that when adjusted for age, gender, emergency hospitalization, subarachnoid hemorrhage, volume of bleeding, duration of operation, aneurysm location, and preoperative history of cardiovascular disease, postoperative CAEs of Clavien-Dindo grade≥II was independently correlated with 1-year mortality rate of the patients with an adjusted odds ratio of 3.670 (95% CI: 1.037-12.992, P=0.04). The patients with CEA also had a lower GOS score at 1 year after surgery than those without CEA (P=0.002). No significant differences were found in the occurrence of other adverse events, postoperative hospital stay, ICU stay, or GCS scores at discharge between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Postoperative CAEs may be a risk factor for increased 1-year mortality and disability in patients undergoing craniotomy for intracranial aneurysms.
Craniotomy/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm/surgery* ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

In neurosurgery, skull repair caused by surgical approach is one of the important research contents. In this paper, a rapid reconstruction method of the skull defect with optical navigation system is proposed. This method can automatically reconstruct the structure of skull defect with the intraoperative defect edge points and preoperative medical image data. The head model experiment was used to evaluate the effect of the method, the average error of the reconstruction of the defect in the right orbit was 0.424 mm, while the average error of the reconstruction of the defect in the posterior skull base was 0.377 mm. The experimental results show that the structure of the defect is consistent with the actual defect, and the reconstruction accuracy satisfies the clinical requirements in neurosurgery.
Craniotomy ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted

PURPOSE: Rapid decompressive craniectomy (DC) was the most effective method for the treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH) with cerebral hernia, but the mortality and disability rate is still high. We suspected that hematoma puncture drainage (PD) + DC may improve the therapeutic effect and thus compared the combined surgery with DC alone. METHODS: From December 2013 to July 2019, patients with HICH from Linzhi, Tibet and Honghe, Yunnan Province were retrospectively analyzed. The selection criteria were as follows: (1) altitude ≥1500 m; (2) HICH patients with cerebral hernia; (3) Glascow coma scale score of 4-8 and time from onset to admission ≤3 h; (4) good liver and kidney function; and (5) complete case data. The included patients were divided into DC group and PD + DC group. The patients were followed up for 6 months. The outcome was assessed by Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) score, Kaplan-Meier survival curve and correlation between time from admission to operation and prognosis. A good outcome was defined as independent (GOS score, 4-5) and poor outcome defined as dependent (GOS score, 3-1). All data analyses were performed using SPSS 19, and comparison between two groups was conducted using separate t-tests or Chi-square tests. RESULTS: A total of 65 patients was included. The age ranged 34-90 years (mean, 63.00 ± 14.04 years). Among them, 31 patients had the operation of PD + DC, whereas 34 patients underwent DC. The two groups had no significant difference in the basic characteristics. After 6 months of follow-up, in the PD + DC group there were 8 death, 4 vegetative state, 4 severe disability (GOS score 1-3, poor outcome 51.6 %); 8 moderate disability, and 7 good recovery (GOS score 4-5, good outcome 48.4 %); while in the DC group the result was 15 death, 6 vegetative state, 5 severe disability (poor outcome 76.5 %), 4 moderate disability and 4 good recovery (good outcome 23.5 %). The GOS score and good outcome were significantly less in DC group than in PD + DC group (Z = -1.993, p = 0.046; χ CONCLUSION PD + DC treatment can improve the good outcomes better than DC treatment for HICH with cerebral hernia at a high altitude.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Altitude ; China ; Decompressive Craniectomy ; Drainage ; Encephalocele/surgery* ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Intracranial Hemorrhage, Hypertensive/surgery* ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Punctures ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To compare well-known preload dynamic parameters intraoperatively including stroke volume variation (SVV), pulse pressure variation (PPV), and plethysmographic variability index (PVI) in children who underwent craniotomy for epileptogenic lesion excision. METHODS: A total of 30 children aged 0 to 14 years undergoing craniotomy for intracranial epileptogenic lesion excision were enrolled. During surgery, we measured PPV, SVV (measured by the Flotrac/Vigileo device), and PVI (measured by the Masimo Radical-7 monitor) simultaneously and continuously. Preload dynamic parameter measurements were collected at predefined steps: after induction of anesthesia, during opening the skull, intraoperative electroencephalogram monitoring, excision of epileptogenic lesion, skull closure, at the end of the operation. After exclusion of outliers, agreement among SVV, PPV, and PVI was assessed using repeated measures of Bland-Altman approach. The 4-quadrant and polar plot techniques were used to assess the trending ability among the changes in the three parameters. RESULTS: The mean SVV, PPV, and PVI were 8%±2%, 10%±3%, and 15%±7%, respectively during surgery. We analyzed a total of 834 paired measurements (3 to 8 data sets for each phase per patient). Repeated measures Bland-Altman analysis identified a bias of -2.3 and 95% confidence intervals between -1.9 and -2.7 (95% limits of agreement between -6.0 and 1.5) between PPV and SVV, showing significant correlation at all periods. The bias between PPV and PVI was -5.0 with 95% limits of agreement between -20.5 and 10.5, and that between SVV and PVI was -7.5 with 95% limits of agreement between -22.7 and 7.8, both not showing significant correlation. Reflected by 4-quadrant plots, the con-cordance rates showing the trending ability between the changes in PPV and SVV, PPV and PVI, SVV and PVI were 88.6%, 50.4%, and 50.1%, respectively. The concordance rate between PPV and SVV was higher (92.7%) in children aged less than 3 years compared with those aged 3 and more than 3 years. The mean angular bias, radial limits of agreement, and angular concordance rate in the polar analysis were not clinically acceptable in the changes between arterial pressure waveform-based parameters and volume-based PVI (PPV vs. PVI: angular mean bias 8.4°, angular concordance rate 29.9%; SVV vs. PVI: angular mean bias 2.4°, angular concordance rate 29.1%). There was a high concordance between the two arterial pressure waveform-based parameters reflected by the polar plot (angular mean bias -0.22°, angular concordance rate 86.6%). CONCLUSION PPV can be viewed as a surrogate for SVV, especially in children aged less than 3 years. The agreement between arterial pressure waveform-based preload parameters (PPV and SVV) and PVI is poor and these two should not be considered interchangeable. Attempt to combine PVI and PPV for improving the anesthesiologist's ability to monitor cardiac preload in major pediatric surgery is warranted.
Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Child ; Craniotomy ; Humans ; Monitoring, Intraoperative ; Stroke Volume

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the risk factors for postoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in neurosurgical patients to provide the basis for the prevention of postoperative DVT. METHODS: A total of 141 patients underwent neurosurgery were enrolled. Thrombelastography (TEG) test was performed before and at the end of surgery. According to whether there was DVT formation after operation, the patients were divided into a thrombosis group and a non-thrombosis group. -test and rank sum test were used to compare the general clinical characteristics of the 2 groups, such as age, gender, intraoperative blood loss, -dimer, intraoperative crystal input, colloid input, blood product transfusion, operation duration, length of postoperative hospitalization. The application of chi-square test and rank-sum test were used to compared TEG main test indicators such as R and K values between the 2 groups. Logistic regression was used to analyze the possible risk factors for postoperative DVT in neurosurgical patients. RESULTS: There were significant differences in postoperative TEG index R, clotting factor function, intraoperative blood loss, hypertension or not, length of postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative absolute bed time (all <0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed hypercoagulability, more intraoperative blood loss and longer postoperative absolute bed time were risk factors for DVT formation after craniotomy. CONCLUSIONS Hypercoagulability in postoperative TEG test of patients is an important risk factor for the formation of postoperative DVT after neurosurgery, which can predict the occurrence of postoperative DVT to some extent.
Craniotomy ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications ; epidemiology ; Postoperative Period ; Risk Factors ; Thrombophilia ; Venous Thrombosis ; epidemiology ; etiology

Objectives: To identify factors that predict the occurrence of seizures in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and to evaluate the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in preventing in-hospital seizures among patients who undergo clip occlusion of ruptured intracranial aneurysms. Methods: In this retrospective study, the medical charts of 205 patients admitted for aneurysmal SAH in Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and who underwent craniotomy and clipping of aneurysm from January 2011 to June 2014 were reviewed. Demographic, radiologic, and clinical factors were converted into categorical variables and their association with the occurrence of seizures analyzed. The incidence of seizures among patients who received an AED (AED cohort) and those who did not receive an AED (No AED cohort) were compared. Secondarily, the effects of seizures and AED use on early postoperative outcomes were determined using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) on the day of discharge. Results: Among 205 patients with aneurysmal SAH, 31 (15.1%) developed seizures. 21 (10.2%) had seizures at onset of SAH and only seven (3.4%) had in-hospital seizures. Aneurysm re-rupture (OR 5.26, p-value 0.045) and the presence of a parenchymal clot (OR 2.90, p-value 0.043) were independent predictors for seizure occurrence. There was no significant difference in the incidence of seizures in the AED cohort and in the No AED cohort (4/100, 4% vs. 3/99, 3%, p-value 0.714). AED use was associated with a higher proportion of patients with a discharge GOS score of 3 or less (28.0% vs 12.1%, p-value 0.005). Conclusion The results of the study do not support the routine use of AEDs in patients with aneurysmal SAH.
Seizures ; Aneurysm ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Craniotomy ; Phenytoin ; Levetiracetam ; Anticonvulsants

Choroid plexus tumors are uncommon brain tumors that primarily occur in children. Most of these tumors originate from the intraventricular area, and the most common clinicalpresentation is increased intracranial pressure. Dissemination through the cerebrospinal fluid space is the inevitable natural course of the disease. Here, we present 2 rare cases of adult choroid plexus carcinoma (CPC), each with distinct clinical presentation and progression. The first case was a 40-year-old male who presented with multiple intraventricular masses. After surgical biopsy, radiation and intrathecal chemotherapy failed to elicit any response. The patient progressed with spinal cord dissemination and expired 1 year later. The second case presented with visual disturbance, and brain MRI revealed a large ovoid juxtaventricular mass with peritumoral edema. This 49-year-old female patient underwent craniotomy for what was thought to be a high-grade glioma; however, the mass was connected to the choroid plexus at the operative field. Her pathology specimen was diagnosed as CPC, and adjuvant systemic chemotherapy was administered. She has now been free of recurrence for 10 months. The description of the presentation and progression of these rare adult-onset CPC provides insight for the diagnosis and treatment of other rare instances of choroid plexus tumors.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Child ; Choroid Plexus Neoplasms ; Choroid Plexus ; Choroid ; Craniotomy ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Edema ; Female ; Fourth Ventricle ; Glioma ; Humans ; Intracranial Pressure ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pathology ; Recurrence ; Spinal Cord

Supratentorial extraventricular anaplastic ependymoma (SEAE) in adults is a relatively rare intracranial tumor. Because of the very low prevalence, only a few cases have been reported. According to a recent study, SEAE is associated with a poor prognosis and there is no definite consensus on optimal treatment. We report a case of an adult SEAE patient who had no recurrence until seven years after a gross total resection (GTR) followed by conventional radiotherapy. A 42-year-old male had a persistent mild headache, left facial palsy, dysarthria, and left hemiparesis. Preoperative neuroimaging revealed an anaplastic astrocytoma or supratentorial ependymoma in the right frontal lobe. A GTR was performed, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. Histologic and immunohistochemical results revealed anaplastic ependymoma. After seven years of initial therapy, a regular follow-up MRI showed a 3-cm-sized partially cystic mass in the same area as the initial tumor. The patient underwent a craniotomy, and a GTR was performed. Histopathologic examination revealed recurrence of the SEAE. External radiotherapy was performed. The patient has been stable without any disease progression or complications for 12 months since the surgery for recurrent SEAE.
Adult ; Astrocytoma ; Consensus ; Craniotomy ; Disease Progression ; Dysarthria ; Ependymoma ; Facial Paralysis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Frontal Lobe ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neuroimaging ; Paresis ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Recurrence ; Supratentorial Neoplasms