Analysis of prognostic factors and the role of epilepsy in neurosurgical patients with brain metastases.

Background: Brain metastases (BMs) represent the most frequent brain tumors in adults. The identification of key prognostic factors is essential for choosing the therapeutic strategy tailored to each patient. Epilepsy can precede several months of other clinical presentations of BMs. This work aimed to study the impact of epilepsy and other prognostic factors on BMs patients' survival. Methods: This retrospective study included 51 patients diagnosed with BMs and who underwent neurosurgery between 2010 and 2021. The impact of BM features and patient's clinical characteristics on the overall survival (OS) was analyzed through uni- and multivariate analysis. Results: The average OS was 25.98 months and differed according to the histology of the primary tumor. The primary tumor localization and the presence of extracranial metastases had a statistically significant impact on the OS, and patients with single BM showed a superior OS to those with multifocal lesions. The localization of BMs in the temporal lobe correlated with the highest OS. The OS was significantly higher in patients who presented seizures in their clinical onset and in those who had better post-surgical Karnofsky performance status, no post-surgical complications, and who underwent post-surgical treatment. Conclusion: Our study has highlighted prognostically favorable patient and tumor factors. Among those, a clinical onset with epileptic seizures can help identify brain metastasis hitherto silent. This could lead to immediate diagnostic-therapeutic interventions with more aggressive therapies after appropriate multidisciplinary evaluation.

Haemostatic technique in malignant gliomas.

INTRODUCTION: Haemostasis in brain surgery is mandatory to avoid postoperative re-bleeding and a poor outcome. Postoperative intra-cavity haemorrhage is a frequent complication, especially in surgery of malignant gliomas because of the fragility of pathological vessels. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this technical note, we describe our 'compression' technique used to achieve haemostasis in adult patients who underwent surgery for supratentorial malignant gliomas (GBM) at our Institute from January 2019 to January 2022. Peri-operative work-up included clinical status, laboratory data and contrast brain CT, performed at 24 hours after surgery, or earlier for patients with neurological worsening. RESULTS: A total of 82 patients was included in this study, 46 males (57%) and 36 females (43%). A post-operative intra-cavity haemorrhage was documented by postoperative CT-scan in 3/82 patients (3.65%), and the mean surgical time was 3.66 hours. No late bleeding was observed 48 hours after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We have documented the good results of our technique to achieve haemostasis in patients operated for malignant glioma (GBM). The technique described in this study seems to be safe and useful to avoid post-operative bleeding in the surgery of cerebral GBM.

Evaluation of prognostic preoperative factors in patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastases: Results in a consecutive series of 81 cases.

Background: Surgical treatment of spinal metastases should be tailored to provide pain control, neurological deficit improvement, and vertebral stability with low operative morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to analyze the predictive value of some preoperative factors on overall survival in patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastases. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a consecutive series of 81 patients who underwent surgery for spinal metastases from 2015 and 2021 in the Clinic of Neurosurgery of Ancona (Italy). Data regarding patients' baseline characteristics, preoperative Karnofsky Performance Status Score (KPS), and Frankel classification grading system, histology of primary tumor, Tokuhashi revised and Tomita scores, Spine Instability Neoplastic Score, and Epidural Spinal Cord Compression Classification were collected. We also evaluated the interval time between the diagnosis of the primary tumor and the onset of spinal metastasis, the type of surgery, the administration of adjuvant therapy, postoperative pain and Frankel grade, and complications after surgery. The relationship between patients' overall survival and predictive preoperative factors was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. For the univariate and multivariate analysis, the log-rank test and Cox regression model were used. P ≤ 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: After surgery, the median survival time was 13 months. In our series, the histology of the primary tumor (P < 0.001), the Tomita (P < 0.001) and the Tokuhashi revised scores (P < 0.001), the preoperative KPS (P < 0.001), the adjuvant therapy (P < 0.001), the postoperative Frankel grade (P < 0.001), and the postoperative pain improvement (P < 0.001) were significantly related to overall survival in the univariate analysis. In the multivariate analysis, the Tomita (P < 0.001), Tokuhashi revised scores (P < 0.001), and the adjuvant therapy were confirmed as independent prognostic factors. Conclusion: These data suggest that patients with limited extension of primitive tumor and responsive to the adjuvant therapy are the best candidates for surgery with better outcome.

Pre-operative hematological markers as predictive factors for overall survival and progression free survival in glioblastomas.

INTRODUCTION: Several hematological factors, such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), prognostic nutrition index (PNI) and albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR), have been highlighted as systemic worse prognostic parameters for the outcome in gliomas. The aim of this study is to identify some pre-operative routinely blood tests as predictive parameters for the Overall Survival (OS) and Progression Free Survival (PFS) in glioblastoma (GBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2013 to April 2019, 124 patients operated for glioblastoma were analyzed. Data were collected regarding age, sex, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), IDH status, the extent of resection (EOR) and adjuvant therapy. The hematological parameters were collected at admission: neutrophils, lymphocytes and platelets, hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, NLR, PLR, AGR and PNI. The OS and the PFS were considered as the end-point for the evaluation of the predictive factors. RESULTS: A pre-operative neutrophil count > 7 × 109/L was a worse prognostic factor for OS and PFS at univariate analysis (p = 0.004 and p = 0.025), as well as hypo-albuminemia. Thrombocytosis, lymphopenia and NLR > 4 were associated to a worse OS, at uni- and multivariate analysis, resulting as poor predictive parameters, independently to EOR, the IDH mutation and the adjuvant therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Still nowadays there are no sensitive or specific hematological markers which are routinely applied for detecting and monitoring the treatment-response and the prognosis of glioblastoma. In our study, a pre-operative low cost and widely used blood markers, such as NLR, lymphocytes and platelets could be predictable prognostic factors for the Overall Survival of patients affected by glioblastomas.

Surgical treatment of cervical spine trauma: Our experience and results.

OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to evaluate how the neurological outcome in patients operated for cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is influenced by surgical timing, admission American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grading system, and age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2004 to December 2011, we operated 110 patients with cervical SCI. Fifty-seven of them (44 males and 13 females) with preoperative neurological deficit, were included in this study with a complete follow-up. Age, sex, associated comorbidities (evaluated with Charlson comorbidity index [CCI]), mechanism of trauma, preoperative and follow-up ASIA score, time elapsed from injury to surgical treatment, preoperative cervical computed tomography scan or magnetic resonance imaging, type of fractures, and surgical procedure were evaluated for each patient. The patient population was divided into two groups related to the timing of surgery: Ultra-early surgery group (within 12 h from the trauma, 27 patients) and early surgery (within 12-72 h from the trauma, 30 patients). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The univariate analysis of data was carried out by the Chi-square test for discrete variables, the t-test for the continuous ones. Logistic regression was used for the multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Neurological outcome was statistically better in ultra-early surgery group (<12 h) than in patient underwent surgery within 12-72 h (82.14% vs. 31%, multivariate analysis P = 0.005). The neurological improvement was also correlated with the age and the ASIA grade at admission in the univariate analysis (P = 0.006 and P = 0.017 respectively) and in the multivariate 1 (P = 0.037 and P = 0.006 respectively) while the CCI was correlated with the improvement only in the univariate analysis (P = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Nowadays, in patients with cervical SCI early surgery could be associated with improved outcome, most in case of young people with mild neurological impairment.

Piezosurgery as a further technical adjunct in minimally invasive supraorbital keyhole approach and lateral orbitotomy.

OBJECTIVE: One of the problems in neurosurgery is how to perform rapid and effective craniotomies that minimize the risk of injury to underlying eloquent structures. The traditional high-powered pneumatic tools and saws are efficient in terms of speed and penetration, but they can provoke bone necrosis and sometimes damage neurovascular structures. As an alternative, we evaluated the piezoelectric bone scalpel (piezosurgery), a device that potentially allows thinner and more precise bone cutting without lesioning neighboring delicate structures, even in the case of accidental contact. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January 2009 to December 2011, 20 patients (8 men and 12 women), 19 to 72 years of age (mean: 49.3 years) were treated using piezosurgery. Surgery was performed for the removal of anterior cranial fossa meningiomas, orbital tumors, and sinonasal lesions with intracranial extension. RESULTS: The time required to perform craniotomy using piezosurgery is a few minutes longer than with traditional drills. No damage was observed using the piezoelectric device. Follow-up clinical and neuroradiologic evaluation showed a faster and better ossification of the bone flap with good esthetic results. CONCLUSIONS: Piezosurgery is a new promising technique for selective bone cutting with soft tissue preservation. This instrument seems suitable to perform precise thin osteotomies while limiting damage to the bone itself and to the underlying delicate structures even in the case of unintentional contact. These advantages make the piezoelectric bone scalpel a particularly attractive instrument in neurosurgery.

Neurological outcome in a series of 58 patients operated for traumatic thoracolumbar spinal cord injuries.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic thoracolumbar spinal fractures represent approximately 65% of all traumatic spinal fractures and are frequently associated to permanent disability with significant social and economic impact. These injuries create severe physical limitations depending on neurological status, level of fracture, severity of injury, patient age and comorbidities. Predicting neurological improvement in patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCIs) is very difficult because it is related to different preoperative prognostic factors. We evaluated the neurological improvement related to the preoperative neurological conditions and the anatomic level of spinal cord injury. METHODS: From January 2004 to June 2010, we operated 207 patients for unstable thoracolumbar spinal fractures. We carried out a retrospective analysis of 69 patients with traumatic SCIs operated on by a posterior fixation performed within 24 hours from the trauma. The preoperative neurological conditions (ASIA grade), the type of the fracture, the anatomic level of spinal cord injury and the postoperative neurological improvement were evaluated for each patient. RESULTS: The ASIA grade at admission (P = 0,0005), the fracture type according to the AO spine classification (P = 0,0002), and the anatomic location of the injury (P = 0,0213) represented predictive factors of neurological improvement at univariate analysis. The preoperative neurological status (P = 0,0491) and the fracture type (P = 0,049) confirmed a positive predictive value also in the multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that the preoperative neurological status, the fracture type and the anatomic location of the fracture are predictive factors of the neurological outcome in patients with spinal cord injury.

Combined endoscopic transforaminal-transchoroidal approach for the treatment of third ventricle colloid cysts.

Colloid cysts are histologically benign lesions whose primary goal of treatment should be complete resection to avoid recurrence and sudden death. Open surgery is traditionally considered the standard approach, but, recently, the endoscopic technique has been recognized as a viable and safe alternative to microsurgery. The endoscopic approach to colloid cysts of the third ventricle is usually performed through the foramen of Monro. However, this route does not provide adequate visualization of the cyst attachment on the tela choroidea. The combined endoscopic transforaminal-transchoroidal approach (ETTA), providing exposure of the entire cyst and a better visualization of the tela choroidea, could increase the chances of achieving a complete cyst resection. Between April 2005 and February 2011, 19 patients with symptomatic colloid cyst of the third ventricle underwent an endoscopic transfrontal-transforaminal approach. Five of these patients, harboring a cyst firmly adherent to the tela choroidea or attached to the middle/posterior roof of the third ventricle, required a combined ETTA. Postoperative MRI documented a gross-total resection in all 5 cases. There were no major complications and only 1 patient experienced a transient worsening of the memory deficit. To date, no cyst recurrence has been observed. An ETTA is a minimally invasive procedure that can allow for a safe and complete resection of third ventricle colloid cysts, even in cases in which the lesions are firmly attached to the tela choroidea or located in the middle/posterior roof of the third ventricle.

Improving the endoscopic endonasal transclival approach: the importance of a precise layer by layer reconstruction.

BACKGROUND. The endoscopic endonasal transclival approach (EETCA) is a minimally-invasive technique allowing a direct route to the base of implant of clival lesions with reduced brain and neurovascular manipulation. On the other hand, it is associated with potentially severe complications related to the difficulties in reconstructing large skull base defects with a high risk of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. The aim of this paper is to describe a precise layer by layer reconstruction in the EETCA including the suture of the mucosa as an additional reinforcing layer between cranial and nasal cavity in order to speed up the healing process and reduce the incidence of CSF leak. METHODS. This closure technique was applied to the last six cases of EETCA used for clival meningiomas (2), clival chordomas (2), clival metastasis (1), and craniopharyngioma with clival extension (1). RESULTS. After a mean follow-up of 6 months we had no one case of postoperative CSF leakage or infections. Seriated outpatient endoscopic endonasal controls showed a fast healing process of nasopharyngeal mucosa with less patient discomfort. CONCLUSIONS. Our preliminary experience confirms the importance of a precise reconstruction of all anatomical layers violated during the surgical approach, including the nasopharygeal mucosa.

Autologous vascularized dural wrapping for temporalis muscle preservation and reconstruction after decompressive craniectomy: report of twenty-five cases.

Temporalis muscle reconstruction is a necessary step during frontotemporal cranioplasty ensuing decompressive craniectomy (DC). During this procedure, scarring between the temporalis muscle and the dural layer may lead to complicated muscle dissection, which carries an increased risk of dura and muscle damage. At time of DC, temporalis muscle wrapping by an autologous vascularized dural flap can later on facilitate dissection and rebuilding during the subsequent cranioplasty. In a span of 2 years, we performed 57 DCs for different etiologies. In 30 cases, the temporalis muscle was isolated by wrapping its inner surface using the autologous dura. At cranioplasty, the muscle could easily be dissected from the duraplasty. The inner surface was easily freed from the autologous dural envelope, and reconstruction achieved in an almost physiological position. Follow-up examinations were held at regular intervals to disclose signs of temporalis muscle depletion. Twenty-five patients survived to undergo cranioplasty. Muscle dissection could always be performed with no injury to the dural layer. No complications related to temporalis muscle wrapping were recorded. Face asymmetry developed in four cases but it was always with bone resorption. None of the patients with a good neurological recovery reported functional or aesthetic complaints. In our experience, temporalis muscle wrapping by vascularized autologous dura proved to be effective in preserving its bulk and reducing its adhesion to duraplasty, thereby improving muscle dissection and reconstruction during cranioplasty. Functional and aesthetic results were satisfying, except in cases of bone resorption.

The sinking bone syndrome?

Bone resorption is a known complication of cranioplasty after decompressive craniectomy (DC). A peculiar group of insidious, progressive, invalidating neurological symptoms was observed in patients presenting with incomplete resorption and abnormal mobility of the re-implanted bone. Such symptoms were similar, but with time more severe, to those encountered in the sinking flap syndrome. Are we facing a sort of Sinking Bone Syndrome? We accurately analyze these cases and review the literature. Over a 7-years period, 312 DCs were performed at our Institution. In 7 patients, headache, vertigo, gait ataxia, confusion, blurred speech, short-term memory impairment, hemiparesis, sudden loss of consciousness, and third cranial nerve palsy were observed in a time period ranging from 18 months to 5 years after cranioplasty. Clinical and neuroradiological examinations were performed to disclose the possible etiopathogenesis of this condition. Collected data showed partial resorption of the repositioned bone and its unnatural inward movements during postural changes. Bone movements were interpreted as the major cause of the symptoms. A new cranioplasty was then performed in every case, using porous hydroxyapatite in 6 patients and polyetherketone implant in the other. Full resolution of symptoms was always obtained 3 to 20 days after the second surgery. No further complications were reported. We believe that long-term follow up in patients operated on by cranioplasty after DC will be needed regularly for years after skull reconstruction and that newly appearing symptoms should never go underestimated or simply interpreted as a long-term consequence of previous brain damage.

Endoscopy-verified occult subependymal dissemination of glioblastoma and brain metastasis undetected by MRI: prognostic significance.

Although various prognostic indices exist for patients with malignant brain tumors, the prognostic significance of the subependymal spread of intracranial tumors is still a matter of debate. In this paper, we report the cases of two intraventricular lesions, a recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and a brain metastasis, each successfully treated with a neuroendoscopic approach. Thanks to this minimally invasive approach, we achieved good therapeutic results: we obtained a histological diagnosis; we controlled intracranial hypertension by treating the associated hydrocephalus and, above all, compared with a microsurgical approach, we reduced the risks related to dissection and brain retraction. Moreover, in both cases, neuroendoscopy enabled us to identify an initial, precocious subependymal tumor spreading below the threshold of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection. This finding, undetected in pre-operative MRI scans, was then evident during follow-up neuroimaging studies. In light of these data, a neuroendoscopic approach might play a leading role in better defining the prognosis and optimally tailored management protocols for GBM and brain metastasis.

Rare synchronous association of vestibular schwannoma and indolent insular oligodendroglioma in a patient without neurofibromatosis: controversial issue of timing for surgical treatment of asymptomatic low-grade gliomas.

The co-occurrence of a vestibular schwannoma and a low-grade glioma is rare, and even rarer is the association with an oligodendroglioma. Although various authors have addressed the problem of treating patients with incidentally discovered indolent low-grade gliomas, an established protocol does not exist to date. The common approach is to reserve surgery until there is radiological evidence of tumor growth or high-grade transformation. However, because incidental low-grade glioma may represent the first stage of unavoidable pathological progression towards high-grade glioma, early and radical surgical resection should be advocated in order to increase the chance of a "cure" and prolonged survival. This case report supports this view, and suggests reflection on a possible change from a conservative philosophy to preventative surgical treatment.

Nonmetastatic Ewing's Sarcoma of the Lumbar Spine in an Adult Patient.

Although the spine is frequently involved in metastatic Ewing's sarcoma, primary involvement of the spine, beside sacrum, is much less frequent, especially in adult patients. Because of the low incidence of these tumors, there are currently no clinical guidelines outlining their management and a multitude of therapeutic strategies have been employed with varying success. The definitive management of Ewing's sarcoma of the spine, as in other locations, could include the combination of three main modalities: aggressive surgery, radiotherapy, and combined chemotherapy. Whenever possible, en bloc spondylectomy or extralesional resection is preferable, providing a better oncological result with a longer survival and a better preservation of the spine biomechanics. This is the lesson we learned about the case, we present here, of nonmetastatic lumbar localization by Ewing's sarcoma in as adult patient.