Meningioma is one of the most common types of benign primary brain tumors in older adults, and multiple meningiomas are reported in fewer than 1% to 10% of cases. However, there is no definitive treatment guideline for patients with multiple meningiomas. An 80-year-old man presented with abruptly impaired cognition and was found to have two distinct meningiomas located in the temporal and frontal lobes. A single frontotemporal craniotomy was performed to remove both tumors. Pathological analysis revealed different subtypes and World Health Organization grades for each mass. The patient showed symptomatic improvement, experienced no postoperative complications, and exhibited no signs of recurrence during a 1-year follow-up period with evaluations at 3-month intervals. Despite the absence of a standard treatment for multiple meningiomas, surgical resection in a single procedure is feasible in selected patients.

Objective: Decompression with instrumented fusion is a common approach for treating spinal metastatic disease. However, in many cases, poor bone quality and compromised general condition increase the likelihood of mechanical failure and other complications. This study investigated complications, including those related to surgery, following decompression and fusion in patients with spinal metastatic disease. Methods: A study at a single tertiary medical center focusing on surgical details and perioperative complications was performed on 35 patients who underwent spinal surgery due to metastatic spinal disease based on a review of a prospective database. Data on patients' underlying conditions and the status of the primary tumors were collected, and various complications that occurred within the first month after surgery were analyzed. Results: During the study, 35 patients (mean age, 66.5 years; 26 men) were enrolled. The most frequent primary cancers were lung (34%) and prostate cancer (17%), followed by liver and breast cancer and others. The overall complication rate was 37% (14% surgery-related complications, 23% general complications). In all cases, surgery was performed due to lower extremity weakness, and 59% of patients showed improvements in motor function after surgery. Furthermore, 23% of patients regained the ability to walk. Conclusion Surgery for spinal metastasis is frequently performed as an emergency due to the severity of symptoms such as lower extremity weakness. Despite a high risk of acute complications, the procedure has significant benefits, including improvement in weakness and recovery of walking ability. Therefore, proactive treatment using appropriate surgical techniques is recommended.

No abstract available.

The sinking skin flap syndrome (SSFS) is a rare complication after a large craniectomy. Hemorrhage infarction after a cranioplasty is a very rare complication with only 4 cases to date. We report a case of the patient who underwent an autologous cranioplasty to treat SSFS that developed intracerebral hemorrhage infarction. A 20-year-old male was admitted to our emergency department with stuporous mentality. Emergent decompressive craniectomy (DC) have done. He had suffered from SSFS and fever of unknown origin (FUO) since DC. After 7 months of craniectomy, cranioplasty was done. After 1 day of surgery, acute infarction with hemorrhagic transformation involved left cerebral hemisphere. We controlled increased intracranial pressure by using osmotic diuretics, steroid and antiepileptic drugs. After 14 day of surgery, he improved neurological symptoms and he had not any more hyperthermia. Among several complication of large cranioplasty only 4 cases of intracerebral hemorrhagic infarction due to reperfusion injury has been reported. In this case, unstable autoregulation system made brain hypoxic damage and then reperfusion and recanalization of cerebral vessels resulted in intracerebral hemorrhagic infarction. 7 month long FUO was resolved by cranioplasty.
Anticonvulsants ; Brain ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Cerebrum ; Decompressive Craniectomy ; Diuretics, Osmotic ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Fever ; Fever of Unknown Origin ; Hemorrhage ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Infarction* ; Intracranial Pressure ; Male ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury ; Skin* ; Stupor ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to estimate the incidence trend of head injury and the mortality based on traffic accident statistics and to investigate the impacts of rapid industrialization and economic growth on epidemiology of head injury in Korea over the period 1970-2012 including both pre-industrialized and post-industrialized stages. METHODS: We collected data of head injury estimated from traffic accident statistics and seven hospital based reports to see incidence trends between 1970 and 2012. We also investigated the population structure and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of Korea over the same period. The age specific data were investigated from 1992 to 2012. RESULTS: The incidence of head injury gradually rose in the 1970s and the 1980s but stabilized until the 1990s with transient rise and then started to decline slowly in the 2000s. The mortality grew until 1991 but gradually declined ever since. However, the old age groups showed rather slight increase in both rates. The degree of decrease in the mortality has been more rapid than the incidence on head injury. CONCLUSION: In Korea during the low income stage, rapid industrialization cause considerable increase in the mortality and the incidence of head injury. During the high income stage, the incidence of head injury gradually declined and the mortality dropped more rapidly than the incidence due to preventive measures and satisfactory medical care. Nevertheless, the old age groups revealed rather slight increase in both rates owing to the large population structure and the declining birth rate.
Accidents, Traffic* ; Birth Rate ; Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Economic Development ; Epidemiology ; Head* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Mortality ; Industrial Development

We report on a case of an 87-year-old woman who showed spontaneous resolution of a large chronic subdural hematoma which required surgical decompression. She had suffered from confused mentality and right side weakness of motor grade II for 10 days. The initial brain CT scan showed a 22 mm thick low density lesion located in the left fronto-temporo-parietal region with midline shift (12 mm) which required emergency decompression. However, because she and her family did not want surgery, she was followed up in the outpatient clinic. Five months later, follow up brain CT showed that the CSDH had disappeared and the patient became neurologically normal. The reasons for spontaneous resolution of CSDH remain unclear. We discuss the possible relation between mechanisms of physio-pathogenesis and spontaneous resolution of a large chronic subdural hematoma (CSH) in an elderly patient.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Brain ; Craniotomy ; Decompression ; Decompression, Surgical* ; Emergencies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic* ; Humans ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We report a long-term survival case of a primary malignant intracerebral nerve sheath tumor (MINST) occurring in the right frontal lobe of a 13-year old boy. After the gross total resection (GTR), we have performed radiation therapy but it recurred 50 months after the surgery, so the second GTR was performed. Later, second tumor recurrence was found 4 months after the second surgery. Subsequently the third GTR, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were carried out. At present, the patient has been remaining alive for 77 months without evidence of tumor recurrence. According to the previous reports, the primary MINST is very rare : there are only 8 cases reported. It is also a fast-growing, invasive tumor with poor outcome. This is the first case that had no recurrence for 50 months after the surgery among the reported cases that had been followed up for more than 5 years. It is supposed that a period of recurrence free survival after GTR and low mitotic activity are associated with the patient's prognosis. A GTR followed by adjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy will be recommended to patients of MINST.
Drug Therapy ; Frontal Lobe ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Recurrence

OBJECTIVE: The current understanding reveals that chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is mostly the results of direct or indirect head trauma. Other factors such as alcoholism, medication (such as anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents), liver cirrhosis, chronic renal failure and hematologic disease are also well known as causes of CSDH. Of them, the authors attempted to identify the risk factors of CSDH by focusing on the age with a view point of recent increase in the elderly population. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 216 consecutive CSDH patients who underwent surgery at our institute between 2002 and 2011. We classified them into two groups according to the patients' age (Group A: <65 years old, Group B: > or =65 years old). Various factors were investigated for risk factor of CSDH, such as head trauma, chronic alcoholism, epilepsy, previous shunt surgery, underlying disease having bleeding tendency or medication affecting blood coagulation. And these factors were compared between the two groups for statistical significance. RESULTS: Among the 216 patients, group A included 81 patients (37.5%), group B included 135 patients (62.5%). The medication of group B had significantly more proportion than group A, comparing to the result that group B had relatively less proportion of head trauma and alcoholism (p<0.05). And medication was more associated with non-traumatic CSDH, especially in group B. CONCLUSION: As previously reported, head trauma or alcoholism are also most important causes as a risk factor of CSDH of all ages in our study. But medication is more closely related to the incidence of CSDH in group A, than group B.
Aged ; Alcoholism ; Anticoagulants ; Blood Coagulation ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Epilepsy ; Hematologic Diseases ; Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: After decompressive craniectomy was performed in patients with severe brain swelling, we were able to preserve autologous bone flap as freeze-preserved state or within abdominal subcutaneous tissue. The aim of this study was to compare the freeze-preservation with the subcutaneous abdominal preservation regarding the effectiveness and safety. METHODS: The clinical data of 53 patients who underwent decompressive craniectomy with autologous bone flap cranioplasty in our department were studied retrospectively. 43 patients underwent cranial reconstruction using autologous bone flap stored in deep freezer. In 10 patients cranioplasty was performed to repair bone defect using autologous bone flap preserved in subcutaneous abdomen. The analysis included the rates of infection, bone absorption and other complications and operation time to compare these two methods. RESULTS: Cranioplasty using deep-freezing bone flap showed a low infection rate (2.3%), low bone absorption (2.3%) and no cosmetic problem. The average time of operation is 146 minutes. Cranioplasty using a bone flap banked in the patient's abdominal wall revealed no case of complications. The average time of operation is 130 minutes. The longer period the bone flap was preserved for, the longer time the operation took in both methods. CONCLUSION: This study may be worth considering that both methods of cryoconservation and subcutaneous abdominal preservetion are feasible for the repair of skull defect although abdominal preservation seems to show better result a little. If the deep-freezer is not available, a bone flap banked in the patient's abdominal wall can be used.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Wall ; Absorption ; Brain Edema ; Cosmetics ; Cryopreservation ; Decompressive Craniectomy ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Skull ; Subcutaneous Tissue

OBJECTIVE: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a typical disease that is encountered frequently in neurosurgical practice. The medications which could cause coagulopathies were known as one of the risk factors of CSDH, such as anticoagulants (ACs) and antiplatelet agents (APs). Recently, the number of patients who are treated with ACs/APs is increasing, especially in the elderly population. With widespread use of these drugs, there is a need to study the changes in risk factors of CSDH patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 290 CSDH patients who underwent surgery at our institute between 1996 and 2010. We classified them into three groups according to the time of presentation (Group A : the remote period group, 1996-2000, Group B : the past period group, 2001-2005, and Group C : the recent period group, 2006-2010). Also, we performed the comparative analysis of independent risk factors between three groups. RESULTS: Among the 290 patients, Group A included 71 patients (24.5%), Group B included 98 patients (33.8%) and Group C included 121 patients (41.7%). Three patients (4.2%) in Group A had a history of receiving ACs/APs, 8 patients (8.2%) in Group B, and 19 patients (15.7%) in Group C. Other factors such as head trauma, alcoholism, epilepsy, previous neurosurgery and underlying disease having bleeding tendency were also evaluated. In ACs/APs related cause of CSDH in Group C, significantly less proportion of the patients are associated with trauma or alcohol compared to the non-medication group. CONCLUSION: In this study, the authors concluded that ACs/APs have more importance as a risk factor of CSDH in the recent period compared to the past. Therefore, doctors should prescribe these medications carefully balancing the potential risk and benefit.
Aged ; Alcoholism ; Anticoagulants ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Epilepsy ; Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Neurosurgery ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors