Angiomas cavernosos de tronco cerebral / Brain stem cavernous angiomas

Introduction: The incidence of intracranial aneurysm ranges from 0,5 to 0,6 por ciento and the diagnosis of incidental aneurysms has increased due to the development of non invasive neuroimaging techniques. Minimally invasive treatment modality in incidental cases. Methods: A series of 119 incidental aneurysms in 77 patients were treated by embolization with GDC coils. Results: One hundred and seven aneurysms were succesfully embolized with total or almost total occlusion rate of 86,8 por ciento. Thirteen procedural complications occurred causing definite morbidity in 5 patients and one death. None of the embolized aneurysms bled during the follow up. Conclusion: Embolization of incidental aneurysms is associated to a low morbidity and mortality rates

Neuronavegacion en cirugias intracraneales / Neuronavigation in intracranial surgeries

Objectives: to present our experience with Neuronavigation system in intracranial surgery. Material and Methods: The use of neuronavigation system was evaluated in 104 consecutive patients operated on during the period September 1999 - April 2003 (Range of age: 5 months - 75 years). Surgical procedures included the remotion of brain tumor, arteriovenous malformation, cavernous angiomas and epilepsy surgeries. The neuronavigation system is the Elekta Insight View Scope (Elekta Instrumental). Results: The additional time required for preoperative organization of the Neuronavigation system was 30 minutes. There were no differences during the registration process related to the surgical position (prone, supine and park-bench). The reference system planning of the surgical approach, to guide endoscopical procedures, perform smaller craniotomies, localize deep-seated subcortical lesions, identify the boundaries of low grade tumors and evaluate the extent of resection in epilepsy surgeries. Conclusion: Neuronavigation system improves the surgical approach of intracranial surgeries allowing to short the operating time, define the less invasive trajector, and identify the margins of low grade lesions

Condrosarcoma de base de cráneo y enfermedad de Ollier / Chondrosacoma of skull basis and Ollierïs disease

Los condrosarcomas intracraneales son lesiones infrecuentes que pueden presentarse en forma aislada o el contexto de las condromatosis múltiples, como la enfermedad de Ollier y el sindrome de Maffucci. Reportamos el caso clínico de una paciente joven con diagnóstico de enfermedad de Ollier y condrosarcoma de base de cráneo analizando los diagnósticos diferenciales y su tratamiento quirúrgico.

Rediculopatía cervical: acceso posterolateral / Cervical radiculopathy: posterolateral approach

Objetivos: evaluar los resultados obtenidos en pacientes con radiculopatía cervical espondilótica o discal operados mediante abordaje cervical posterolateral. Métodos: desde octubre de 1994 a enero de 1998, 30 pacientes consecutivos fueron intervenidos quirúrgicamente mediante foraminotomía posterior por cuadros de radiculopatía cervical. Hubo 23 hombres y 7 mujeres, con un promedio de 41 años. El seguimiento promedio fue de 64 semanas. Los resultados fueron analizados mediante los criterios de Odom y la escala semi-análoga. Resultados: al seguimiento el 90 por ciento de los pacientes tuvieron recuperación completa o habían mejorado considerablemente su condición prequirúrgica. Conclusión: usando estrictos criterios de selección, el abordaje posterolateral permite obtener excelentes resultados en la radiculopatía cervical espondilótica o discal, con escasa morbilidad