Pure surgical treatment of 109 aneurysms.

AIM: Target of this study was to investigate outcomes after pure surgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms. METHODS: Patients with intracranial supratentorial circle aneurysms were retrospectively reviewed between July 1994 and October 1998. Studied cases were admitted at the Department of Neurosurgery of S. Maria-Hospital, Terni, a Government supported General Hospital. One hundred and nine Hunt and Hess Grade 0 to III patients with supratentorial circle aneurysms was studied in order to determine whether advances in the surgical management of intracranial aneurysms have improved surgical outcomes and which factors may predict outcome. All patients were managed only with standard neurosurgical aneurysms clipping procedures. Outcomes evaluation was made at patients' discharge and classified on the base of the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Surgical timing, SAH grading, pre and post surgical symptomatic vasospasm, temporary clipping, and intraoperative aneurysm rupture were correlated with outcomes. RESULTS: Surgical results showed a 75% excellent outcome. Mortality rate was 3%. Hunt and Hess grade 0 highly influenced outcome. Differences in outcomes among grades I to III were not significant. No differences in outcomes related to temporary clipping were noted. A low rate of intraoperative aneurysm rupture is reported: 5 out of 109 cases. In all these cases outcome was good, with neither mortality or morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate a progressive improvement in surgical outcomes, suggesting that there still exist margins for improvements in pure surgical management of intracranial aneurysms.

Conus medullaris hematomyelia associated with an intradural-extramedullary cavernous angioma.

A unique case of a 50-year-old woman with a conus medullaris hematomyelia associated with a low thoracic intradural-extramedullary cavernous angioma localized 2 cm above is reported. The patient had a 2-month history of progressive paraparesis, hypoesthesia of legs, and bowel and bladder disturbances. The symptoms worsened acutely during the last days before admission. A thoraco-lumbar MRI showed a space-occupying lesion at T10-T11 (vertebral interspace associated with a hematomyelia localized about 2 cm below. A T10-L1 laminectomy was performed and complete removal of both lesions was obtained with microsurgical technique. A non-traumatic hematomyelia should always prompt the suspicion of a spinal AVM or, more rarely, of a cavernous angioma. The possible anatomical and clinical correlations of this unusual association are discussed.

Intraneural capillary hemangioma of the cauda equina.

A case of intraneural capillary hemangioma involving the dorsal root of a spinal nerve of the cauda equina is reported. The patient was a 41-year-old man with a 3-month history of intermittent left lumbosciatalgia. MRI and CT myelography showed a space-occupying mass at the level of the cauda equina. Laminectomy of L5 and complete removal of the lesion were performed without neurological problems. The clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of hemangiomas of the cauda equina are analyzed.

Cervical spontaneous epidural hematoma as a complication of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Epidural hematoma is a rare cause of spinal cord compression, which usually provokes severe neurological deficits. It is presumed to originate from venous or, more probably, arterial bleeding. Thrombocytopenia and other disorders of coagulation may precipitate the onset of epidural hematoma and facilitate the evolution of the disease. We report the case of a patient suffering from a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with severe thrombocytopenia during a MACOP-B schedule, who presented with a spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma. We discuss the etiopathological aspects, diagnosis, and treatment of this rare cause of acute cervical spinal cord compression.