Clinical Comparison between Simple Craniectomy and Lesionectomy in the Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

OBJECTIVE: Life-threatening middle cerebral artery infarction may be accompanied by severe post-ischemic brain swelling due to cytotoxic vasogenic edema. The resultant progressive mass effect may prove fatal, owing to increased intracranial pressure and herniation. Recent studies have shown that early decompressive craniectomy decreases mortality, but no comparison has been performed between the outcomes achieved with simple craniectomy and those achieved with craniectomy combined with lesionectomy. This study was performed to compare the outcomes achieved after simple craniectomy and after craniectomy combined with lesionectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively reviewed the records of 59 patients who presented with acute middle cerebral infarction between January 2001 and October 2007. Thirty-one patients (Group A) underwent simple decompressive craniectomy, and 28 patients (Group B) underwent lesionectomy with craniectomy. In all patients, lesion volume and mid-line shift were measured radiologically. Outcomes were quantified using the Glasgow Outcome Scale. RESULT: Patient factors (age, sex), Glasgow Coma Scale, radiologic findings, and lobe involvement were the same for the two groups. However, the outcomes for the two groups were different. At 6 months after surgery, the mean Glasgow Outcome Scale for Group A was 2.71 and that for Group B was 3.39 (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment, especially decompressive craniectomy combined with lesionectomy, was beneficial in the setting of malignant cerebral infarction.

Posterior Microscopic Lesionectomy for Lumbar Disc Herniation with Tubular Retraction Using METRx(TM) System

OBJECTIVE: The authors have developed a procedure, termed posterior microscopic lesionectomy, that creates a minimal laminotomy site according to the location of the shifted disc using the METRx(TM) system in the lumbar spine. This study compared the usefulness and surgical outcomes of this procedure with those of traditional standard lumbar discectomy. METHODS: From June 2003 to June 2004, Twenty-two patients with one-level radiculopathy due to lumbar disc herniation underwent posterior microscopic lesionectomy with the assistance of an operating microscope and the METRx(TM) tubular retractor. Surgical results of the new procedure were compared to those of 39 patients who underwent traditional lumbar discectomy from April 2003 to September 2004. All patients were evaluated for pain score, clinical assessment according to the VAS, and Roland-Morris scores pre-operatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-operatively. RESULTS: Mean blood loss, operation time, and admission date showed significant improvements for microscopic lesionectomy compared to traditional lumbar discectomy (P<0.001). Also, both measures of short-term functional improvement, the Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) and Roland-Morris(RM) scores, were statistically better for microscopic lesionectomy than for traditional discectomy (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Posterior microscopic lesionectomy can be performed more safely and provide greater benefit than traditional discectomy. The procedure is associated with less post-operative pain, shorter hospital stays, and quicker rehabilitation.

A Case of Idiopathic Localized Hypertrophic Pachymeningitis Presented with Partial Seizures / 대한간질학회지

Idiopathic hypertrophic pachymeningitis is a clinical disorder caused by a localized or diffuse thickening of the dura mater, with an associated chronic inflammation. This can be diagnosed when there is no evidence of other etiologies such as trauma, infection, tumors, and Wegener's disease. Clinical manifestations are chronic headache with or without neurological manifestations such as cranial nerve palsies, cerebellar ataxia, neuro-ophthalmologic complications, and rarely clinical seizures. We described a patient with simple partial seizures with focal sensory and motor symptoms in the right hand as an initial and the only clinical manifestation, accompanied by a tumor-like lesion in the left parietal convexity on brain MRI. The patient underwent a lesionectomy, and the seizures have been well controlled so far without immunosuppressant treatment.

Ictal SPECT-guided Epilepsy Surgery in a Patient with Forme Fruste Tuberous Sclerosis

Tuberous sclerosis is an autosomal dominant disease characterised by hamartomas (tubers) in many organ systems and the four major intracranial manifestations including cortical tubers, white matter abnormalities, subependymal nodules and subependymal giant cell astrocytoma. But there is immense variability in the clinical presentation of tuberous sclerosis and many incomplete forms (formes frustes) exist. Almost all patients with tuberous sclerosis have seizures and mental retardation. The authors experienced a 7-year-old boy with medically intractable epilepsy without any skin lesion or mental retardation. In terms of surgical standpoint for determination of extent of resection, corticectomy on the overriding cortex of right premotor and lesionectomy of periventricular calcified lesion were performed according to ictal single photon emission computed tomography(SPECT), which showed hyperperfusion in the subcortical and calcified area. Histopathologic findings showed a few cytologically abnormal neurons with extensive gliosis, containing many Rosenthal fibers, reactive astrocytes and dense calcification, composing of abundant calcospherites which suggested forme fruste tuberous sclerosis. During the follow-up period of eighteen months, seizure was free after surgery.

Surgical Outcome of Intractable Seizure with Space-Occupying Lesion in Temporal Lobe

OBJECTIVE: The increasing use of sensitive neuroimaging techniques has demonstrated that significant percentage of patients with intractable complex partial seizures have brain masses, especially in temporal lobe. The optimal surgical solution for these patients is still open to debate. The purpose of our investigation is to evaluate the surgical outcome of patient with lesion-related temporal lobe epilepsy with respect to the types of surgery and the location of lesion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From DEC. 1993 to Dec. 1997, 35 patients with intractable epilepsy and space occupying temporal lobe lesion identified in preoperative MRI were included in this study. The types of surgery were lesionectomy, anterior temporal lobectomy with or without hippocampectomy. The location of lesion was divided as anteromedial group and lateral cortical group. The postoperative seizure outcomes according to the type of surgery and location of the lesion were compared. RESULTS: Twenty-six of 34 patients(76.5%) were seizure-free after surgery. The Engel's class was favorable after anterior temporal lobectomy with or without hippocampectomy(p=.044). CONCLUSION: It is favorable to perform anterior temporal lobectomy for the treatment of intractable epilepsy with space-occipying lesion in temporal lobe. The resection of the hippocampus can be individualized.

Surgery of Intractable Epilepsy with Calcified Mass Lesions in the Temporal Lobe

We present 10 patients who underwent temporal lobe surgery for seizure control on our institution between December, 1992 and October, 1994. Preoperative neuroimaging studies of all 10 patients showed calcified mass lesions within the temporal lobe. Among them, 5 cases had mesial temporal calcified mass close to the hippocampus, 3 diffuse mass in the temporal lobe or multilobes and 2 in the temporal tip. All patients presented with complex partial seizure and seven had secondary generalization from their seizures. The duration of epileptic seizure varied between 4 and 23 years(mean 13 year). The patients were refractory to therapeutic levels of anticonvulsant medication. Presurgical evaluations of epilepsy included a detailed clinical history, multiple scalp/shenoidal EEG, prolonged Video-EEG monitoring, neuroimaging, neuropsychological test, WADA test and invasive study with subdural strip electrodes. Anterior temporal lobectomy with lesionectomy were performed in six cases and anterior temporal lobectomy in four cases using intraoperative electrocorticography(EcoG) and/or functional mapping under local or general anesthesia. The extent of resection of amygdala and hippocampus were determined according to electrocorticographic findings. The verified histopathology of the calcified lesions revealed 1 oligodendroglioma, 1 mixed glioma, 1 arterioveous malformation, 1 paragonimiasis, 2 neurocysticercosis, 1 other parasitic granuloma and 3 calcified fibrous nodule. In four patients, severe hippocampal sclerosis with neuronal cell loss and gliosis were observed. After a mean postoperative follow-up of 9 months, 9 patients showed a seizure-free outcome and one patient a significant reduction in seizure activity. We conclude from our studies that temporal lobe surgery for patients refractory to therapeutic levels of long-term anticonvulsant medication can result in excellent postoperative seizure-free outcome in the majority of the patients, and that brain tumors, vascular malformations, and parasitic infections may be considered as etiologic factors of calcified mass lesions in the temporal lobe of such patients.

Preliminary Results of Epilepsy Surgery at Chonbuk National University Hospital Medical School

No abstract available.

Surgery for seizure-related structural lesions of the brain with intraoperative acute recording(ECoG) and functional mapping

Epilepsy surgery has been demonstrated to be an effective alternative treatment for intractable partial or localization related epilepsy. Primary intracranial neoplasms and other structural lesions of the brain are important etiological factors in patients with partial seizure disorders. A neuroimaging identified lesion in patients with seizures, not necessarily medically refractory, may also be an indication for surgery in selected patients. Twelve patients operated on under local or general anesthesia for resection surgery underwent intraoperative recording(electrocorticogram) and/or functional mapping by electrical stimulation or somatosensory evoked potentials-(SSEPs) for identification of the secondary epileptogenic area and/or functional area; 2 meningiomas, 5 astrocytomas, 1 gangliocytoma, 1 abscess, 1 small AVM, 1 cysticercosis and one gliosis by previous intracerebral hemorrhage with middle cerebral artery(MCA) aneurysm. Among these, additional corticectomy or anterior temporal lobectomy was performed in eleven patients. All the patients did well after surgery with good outcomes as seizure free in nine(75%) out of 12 patients with 11.9 months of follow-up period, without any neurological deficits. Intraoperative recording and functional mapping of adjacent areas of the structural lesions of the brain are useful in surgery and can guide the extent of further resection.