Hydrocephalus Resolution with Third Ventriculostomy with Floor Stenting: Technical Note and Literature Review.

INTRODUCTION: The management of refractory obstructive hydrocephalus is a paramount neurosurgical challenge. The endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) has been accepted as the procedure of choice for obstructive hydrocephalus, depending on the presence of certain risk factors, such as intracranial infections, young age, previous shunt failure and distorted anatomy of the ventricular floor, that predispose occlusion or obstruction of the CSF outflow through the stoma. CASE REPORT: A 20-year-old man with obstructive hydrocephalus due to primary aqueductal stenosis performed several neurosurgical procedures, including two previous ETV, without long term resolution. We performed another ETV, with stent placement at the stoma to prevent occlusion. After 25 months of asymptomatic follow-up, the patient presented with an enlarged fourth ventricle, and a new neuroendoscopic procedure showed a patent stoma and a well-placed stent. DISCUSSION: Stent placement on the third ventricular floor was already reported 19 times in the literature. Its success rate is about 94,7%, and complications happened in 2 cases, with functional impaired in only one of them. CONCLUSION: Third ventriculostomy with floor stenting proved to be an effective procedure in our case of complex hydrocephalus. It is a viable option in cases where there is a greater chance of stoma occlusion.

Casper vs. Closed-Cell Stent : Carotid Artery Stenting Randomized Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this trial was to compare the efficacy of closed-cell stents with Casper stents during carotid angioplasty stenting (CAS). METHODS: This was a randomized superiority trial in which 88 patients were enrolled. The primary end points were the incidence, number, and size of new ischemic brain lesions after CAS under distal embolic protection devices (EPD). The secondary end points included stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA) and myocardial infarction (MI). Ischemic brain lesions were assessed by a diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance image (DW-MRI). Neurological outcomes were evaluated by means of the National Institutes of Health scale score (NIHSS) and the modified Rankin scale (mRS). RESULTS: Compared with closed-cell stents (n = 47), Casper stents (n = 41), resulted in no significant reduction in the incidence (44.7% versus 39%, P = 0.592), number (1.3 ± 1.8 versus 0.9 ± 1.5, p = 0.444), and size (3.9 ± 5.8 mm versus 2.8 ± 4.1 mm, p = 0.353) of new ischemic brain lesions. The global rate of stroke/TIA/MI was (2/88, 2.3%). Two TIA occurred during the hospitalization period, one in each group (1/41, 2.4% vs 1/47, 2.1%). One patient of the Casper group had an asymptomatic in-stent thrombosis. One patient of the control group had a MI (1/47, 2.1%) after discharge. CONCLUSION: The Casper stents did not show superiority in the rate of incidence, number and size of new silent ischemic brain lesions detect by DW-MRI when compared to close cell stents during CAS under distal EPD.

Traumatic Buccal and Inferior Alveolar Pseudoaneurysm Associated With Von Willebrand Disease: A Challenging Case Treated by Endovascular Approach.

ABSTRACT: Pseudoaneurysm resulting from the external carotid artery or its branches after trauma to the maxillofacial region is unlikely, even more so, in a patient with von Willebrand disease. This study aimed to report a challenging case of pseudoaneurysm of the buccal artery and inferior alveolar artery due to a mandible fracture in a traumatized patient with undiagnosed von Willebrand disease. This reported case was conducted by a multidisciplinary team, covering the departments of maxillofacial surgery, interventional neuroradiology, neurosurgery, and hematology. From a fracture of the lower jaw and the appropriate course of action, bleeding episodes followed until intervention with embolization therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the literature of a patient with those conditions.