Spinal extradural arachnoid cyst: Rare cases from Indian Institutes.

BACKGROUND: Spinal extradural arachnoid cyst (SEDAC), accounting for approximately 1% of all spinal lesions, rarely causes compressive myelopathy. It is usually found at lower thoracic or upper lumbar levels in males in their forties to sixties. The standard surgical procedures include direct dural repair. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 37-year-old male presented with myelopathy attributed to a type I meningeal cyst (SEDAC) that was successfully managed with a laminectomy, cyst excision, and direct dural sleeve repair. Similar cases reported in the literature were also reviewed. CONCLUSION: SEDACs, although rare, must be considered among the differential diagnoses for compressive myelopathy/neurogenic bladder.

Role of Decompressive Laminectomy without Instrumentation in the Management of Nurick Grade 4 and 5 Cervical Compressive Myelopathy.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical laminectomy is a very well-known posterior decompressive procedure for cervical compressive myelopathy (CCM). Our objective is to evaluate the functional effect of posterior decompressive laminectomy for poor grade CCM. METHODS: This study was an observational retrospective study carried out on patients with poor-grade CCM who underwent decompressive laminectomy from January 2010 to December 2015. Patients with Nurick Grades 4 and 5 (walking with support or bedbound) were included in the study. Clinical data and radiological information were collected from medical records, and objective scales were applied to compare the surgical outcome between preoperative score and postoperative score. RESULTS: A total of 69 patients who underwent decompressive laminectomy for poor grade CCM were included. The mean age was 54.9 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 5.3:1. Ossified posterior longitudinal ligament comprised 52.6% cases. The follow-up data of at least 6 months' duration after surgery was available for 57 (82.6%) cases. On comparing with preoperative Nurick grade at follow-up, 40 of the 57 patients (70.2%) were found to have improvement following surgery by at least one grade. The remaining 17 (29.8%) had either remained the same or had deteriorated further. The mean preoperative modified Japanese Orthopedic Association score was 8.4 ± 2.8, and the mean follow-up score was 11.8±0.3 (P = 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, the number of levels of laminectomy, postoperative deterioration, and anesthesia grade were predictors of outcome. CONCLUSION: Decompressive laminectomy for poor grade myelopathy is effective in improving functional outcome.

Primary mesenteric liposarcoma: An unusual presentation of a rare condition.

Primary mesenteric liposarcoma is a rare neoplasm. Here, we report the case of a 50 year old Indian man with a pleomorphic liposarcoma of the mesentery. The clinical findings pointed towards a retroperitoneal growth but imaging resolved the issue. A laparotomy was performed and a 20 cm × 20 cm multilobulated tumour arising from the mesentery and weighing 1.8 kilograms was excised with a segment of jejunum. The cut surface had a variegated appearance with regions of necrosis. The histological features were suggestive of pleomorphic liposarcoma. Tumour cells were positive for S-100 and negative for SMA/Desmin. Complete resection is curative although the role of chemotherapy remains to be established.