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Open access

Approaches to ventriculoperitoneal shunt scalp erosion: countersinking into the calvarium. Illustrative case

Denise Brunozzi, Melissa A LoPresti, Jennifer L McGrath, and Tord D Alden

BACKGROUND

Ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) is a standard procedure for the treatment of hydrocephalus, and the management of its complications is common in the practice of pediatric neurosurgery. Shunt exposure, though a rare complication, can occur because of thin, fragile skin, a young patient age, protuberant hardware, poor scalp perfusion, and a multitude of other patient factors.

OBSERVATIONS

The authors report a complex case of VPS erosion through the scalp in a young female with Pfeiffer syndrome treated with external ventricular drainage, empirical antibiotics, and reinternalization with countersinking of replaced shunt hardware into the calvarium to prevent internal skin pressure points, reduce wound tension, and allow wound healing.

LESSONS

Recessing the shunt hardware, or countersinking the implant, into the calvarium is a simple technique often used in functional neurosurgical implantation surgeries, providing a safe surgical strategy to optimize wound healing in select cases in which the skin flap is unfavorable.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons Volume 6 (2023): Issue 22 (Nov 2023)

Open access

Can we build better? Challenges with geospatial and financial accessibility in the Caribbean. Illustrative case

Ellianne J dos Santos Rubio, Chrystal Calderon, Annegien Boeykens, and Kee B Park

BACKGROUND

Within the Caribbean, Curaçao provides a neurosurgical hub to other Dutch Caribbean islands. At times, the inefficiency of neurosurgical referrals leads to unsatisfactory patient outcomes in true emergency cases.

OBSERVATIONS

This article reports an illustrative case of a patient in need of emergency neurosurgical care, who was referred to a tertiary health institution in Curaçao. This case highlights the challenges of timely neurosurgical referrals within the Dutch Caribbean.

LESSONS

Highlighting this case may provide a foundation for further discussions that may improve neurosurgical care and access. Limiting long-distance surgical referrals in the acute care setting will aid in saving lives.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons Volume 6 (2023): Issue 22 (Nov 2023)

Open access

Consecutive resections of double pituitary adenoma for resolution of Cushing disease: illustrative case

Stephanie A Armstrong, Samon Tavakoli, Ipsit Shah, Brandon R Laing, Dylan Coss, Adriana G Ioachimescu, James Findling, and Nathan T Zwagerman

BACKGROUND

Double pituitary adenomas are rare presentations of two distinct adenohypophyseal lesions seen in <1% of surgical cases. Increased rates of recurrence or persistence are reported in the resection of Cushing microadenomas and are attributed to the small tumor size and localization difficulties. The authors report a case of surgical treatment failure of Cushing disease because of the presence of a secondary pituitary adenoma.

OBSERVATIONS

A 32-year-old woman with a history of prolactin excess and pituitary lesion presented with oligomenorrhea, weight gain, facial fullness, and hirsutism. Urinary and nighttime salivary cortisol elevation were elevated. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a 4-mm3 pituitary lesion. Inferior petrosal sinus sampling was diagnostic for Cushing disease. Primary endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal resection was performed to remove what was determined to be a lactotroph-secreting tumor on immunohistochemistry with persistent hypercortisolism. Repeat resection yielded a corticotroph-secreting tumor and postoperative hypoadrenalism followed by long-term normalization of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

LESSONS

This case demonstrates the importance of multidisciplinary management and postoperative hormonal follow-up in patients with Cushing disease. Improved strategies for localization of the active tumor in double pituitary adenomas are essential for primary surgical success and resolution of endocrinopathies.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons Volume 6 (2023): Issue 22 (Nov 2023)

Open access

Cranial vault suspension for basilar invagination in patients with open cranial sutures: technique and long-term follow-up. Illustrative case

Christopher B Cutler, Daphne Li, and John R Ruge

BACKGROUND

Hajdu-Cheney syndrome (HCS) is an extremely rare genetic disorder characterized by severe osteoporosis, scoliosis, and persistent open cranial sutures (POCSs). Neurological complications include hydrocephalus, Chiari I malformations, and basilar invagination (BI). Surgical intervention in HCS is challenging due to severe osteoporosis, ligamentous laxity, POCSs, and extreme skeletal deformities. Herein, the authors present a case of BI repair in a patient with HCS and POCSs, requiring a novel technique of cranial vault suspension, with long-term follow-up.

OBSERVATIONS

A 20-year-old female with HCS and progressive symptomatic BI, initially managed with posterior fossa decompression and occipital to cervical fusion, subsequently required cranial vault expansion due to symptomatic shifting of her cranium secondary to POCS. This custom construct provided long-term stabilization and neurological improvement over a follow-up duration of 9.5 years. A literature review performed revealed three other cases of surgical intervention for BI in patients with HCS and clinicopathological characteristics of each case was compared to the present illustrative case.

LESSONS

POCSs in patients with BI complicate traditional surgical approaches, necessitating more invasive techniques to secure all mobile cranial parts for optimal outcomes. Using this cranial vault suspension and fusion technique results in lasting neurological improvement and construct stability.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons Volume 6 (2023): Issue 22 (Nov 2023)

Open access

Intraoperative intraarterial indocyanine green video-angiography for disconnection of a perimedullary arteriovenous fistula: illustrative case

Youngkyung Jung, Antti Lindgren, Syed Uzair Ahmed, Ivan Radovanovic, Timo Krings, and Hugo Andrade-Barazarte

BACKGROUND

Intraarterial (IA) indocyanine green (ICG) angiography is an intraoperative imaging technique offering special and temporal characterization of vascular lesions with very fast dye clearance. The authors’ aim is to demonstrate the use of IA ICG angiography to aid in the surgical treatment of a perimedullary thoracic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in a hybrid operating room (OR).

OBSERVATIONS

A 31-year-old woman with a known history of spinal AVF presented with 6 weeks of lower-extremity weakness, gait imbalance, and bowel/bladder dysfunction. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an extensive series of flow voids across the thoracic spine, most notably at T11–12. After partial embolization, she was taken for surgical disconnection in a hybrid OR. Intraoperative spinal digital subtraction angiography was performed to identify feeding vessels. When the target arteries were catheterized, 0.05 mg of ICG in 2 mL of saline was injected, and the ICG flow in each artery was recorded using the microscope. With an improved surgical understanding of the contributing feeding arteries, the authors achieved complete in situ disconnection of the AVF.

LESSONS

IA ICG angiography can be used in hybrid OR settings to illustrate the vascular anatomy of multifeeder perimedullary AVFs and confirm its postoperative disconnection with a fast dye clearance.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons Volume 6 (2023): Issue 22 (Nov 2023)

Open access

Myasthenia gravis in a pediatric patient with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome following responsive neurostimulation device implantation: illustrative case

David A Zuckerman, Cameron P Beaudreault, Carrie R Muh, Patricia E McGoldrick, and Steven M Wolf

BACKGROUND

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder in which the postsynaptic acetylcholine receptor of the neuromuscular junction is destroyed by autoantibodies. The authors report a case of MG in a pediatric patient who also suffered from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and is one of a limited number of pediatric patients who have undergone placement of a responsive neurostimulation (RNS) device (NeuroPace).

OBSERVATIONS

A 17-year-old female underwent placement of an RNS device for drug-resistant epilepsy in the setting of LGS. Five months after device placement, the patient began experiencing intermittent slurred speech, fatigue, and muscle weakness. Initially, the symptoms were attributed to increased seizure activity and/or medication side effects. However, despite changing medications and RNS settings, no improvements occurred. Her antiacetylcholine receptor antibodies measured 62.50 nmol/L, consistent with a diagnosis of MG. The patient was then prescribed pyridostigmine and underwent a thymectomy, which alleviated most of her symptoms.

LESSONS

The authors share the cautionary tale of a case of MG in a pediatric patient who was treated with RNS for intractable epilepsy associated with LGS. Although slurred speech, fatigue, muscle weakness, and other symptoms might stem from increased seizure activity and/or medication side effects, they could also be due to MG development.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Case Lessons Volume 6 (2023): Issue 22 (Nov 2023)

Restricted access

Application of the Rotterdam postoperative cerebellar mutism syndrome prediction model in patients undergoing surgery for medulloblastoma in a single institution

Savannah Bush, Paul Klimo Jr., Arzu Onar-Thomas, Jie Huang, Frederick A. Boop, Amar Gajjar, Giles W. Robinson, and Raja B. Khan

OBJECTIVE

Postoperative cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS) develops in up to 40% of children with medulloblastoma. The Rotterdam model (RM) has been reported to predict a 66% risk of CMS in patients with a score of ≥ 100. The aim of this study was to retrospectively apply the RM to an independent cohort of patients with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma and study the applicability of the RM in predicting postoperative CMS.

METHODS

Participants had to have their first tumor resection at the authors’ institution and be enrolled in the SJMB12 protocol (NCT01878617). All participants underwent structured serial neurological evaluations before and then periodically after completing radiation therapy. Imaging was reviewed by the study neurologist who was blinded to CMS status when reviewing the scans and retrospectively applied RM score to each participant.

RESULTS

Forty participants were included (14 females and 26 males). Four (10%) patients had CMS. The median age at tumor resection was 11.7 years (range 3.5–17.8 years). Tumor location was midline in 30 (75%), right lateral in 6 (15%), and left lateral in 4 (10%). The median Evans index was 0.3 (range 0.2–0.4), and 34 (85%) patients had an Evans index ≥ 0.3. Five participants required a ventricular shunt. The median tumor volume was 51.97 cm3 (range 20.13–180.58 cm3). Gross-total resection was achieved in 35 (87.5%) patients, near-total resection in 4 (10%), and subtotal in 1. The median RM score was 90 (range 25–145). Eighteen participants had an RM score of ≥ 100, and of these 16.7% (n = 3) had CMS. Of the 22 patients with an RM score < 100, 1 child developed CMS (4.5%, CI 0.1%–22.8%); 3 of the 18 patients with an RM score ≥ 100 developed CMS (16.7%, CI 3.6%–41.4%). The observed rate of CMS in the cohort of children with an RM score ≥ 100 was significantly lower than the observed rate in the original RM cohort (66.7%, CI 51%–80.0%, p < 0.001). A greater risk of CMS in patients with an RM score ≥ 100 could not be confirmed (p = 0.31).

CONCLUSIONS

At the authors’ institution, the incidence of CMS in patients who had an RM ≥ 100 was significantly lower than the RM cohort. These findings raise questions regarding generalizability of RM; however, fewer cases of CMS and a relatively small cohort limit this conclusion.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics Publish Before Print

Restricted access

Association of carotid endarterectomy at low-volume centers with higher likelihood of major complications and nonroutine discharge

Jane S. Han, Shivani D. Rangwala, Kristie Q. Liu, Li Ding, Samir Alsalek, Frank J. Attenello, and William J. Mack

OBJECTIVE

Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is associated with an annual stroke risk of 2%–5%, and revascularization with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can reduce this risk. While studies have demonstrated that hospital CEA volume is associated with mortality and myocardial infarction, CEA volume cutoffs in studies are relatively arbitrary, and no specific analyses on broad complications and discharge disposition have been performed. In this study, the authors systematically set out to identify a cutoff at which CEA procedural volume was significantly associated with major complications and nonroutine discharge.

METHODS

Asymptomatic and symptomatic CAS patients undergoing CEA were retrospectively identified in the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2010–2018). The association of CEA volume with outcomes was explored as a continuous variable using locally estimated scatterplot smoothing. The identified volume cutoff was used to generate dichotomous volume cohorts, and multivariate analyses of patient and hospital characteristics were conducted to evaluate the association of CEA volume with major complications and discharge disposition.

RESULTS

Between 2010 and 2018, 308,933 asymptomatic and 32,877 symptomatic patients underwent CEA. Analysis of CEA volume with outcomes as a continuous variable demonstrated that an increase in volume was associated with a lower risk until a volume of approximately 7 cases per year (20th percentile). A total of 6702 (2.2%) asymptomatic and 1040 (3.2%) symptomatic patients were treated at the bottom 20% of hospital procedure volume. Increased rates of complications were seen at low-volume centers among asymptomatic (3.66% vs 2.77%) and symptomatic (7.4% vs 6.87%) patients. Asymptomatic patients treated at low-volume centers had an increased likelihood of major complications (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.07–1.49; p = 0.007) and nonroutine discharge (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.24–1.50; p < 0.0001). Symptomatic patients treated at low-volume centers were also more likely to experience major complications (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.07–2.02; p = 0.02) and nonroutine discharge (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.07–1.47; p = 0.005). Mortality rates were similar between low- and high-volume hospitals among asymptomatic (0.36% and 0.32%, respectively) and symptomatic (1.06% and 1.49%, respectively) patients, while volume was not significantly associated with mortality among asymptomatic (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.67–1.65; p = 0.81) and symptomatic (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.43–1.54; p = 0.52) patients in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

CEA patients, asymptomatic or symptomatic, are at a higher risk of major complications and nonroutine discharge at low-volume centers. Analysis of CEA as a continuous variable demonstrated a cutoff at 7 cases per year, and further study may identify factors associated with improved outcome at the lowest-volume centers.

In Journal of Neurosurgery Publish Before Print

Restricted access

Comparison of intraoperative cone-beam CT versus preoperative fan-beam CT for navigated spine surgery: a prospective randomized study

Tsung-Hsi Tu, Yi-Hsuan Kuo, Chih-Chang Chang, Chao-Hung Kuo, Hsuan-Kan Chang, Li-Yu Fay, Mei-Yin Yeh, Chin-Chu Ko, Wen-Cheng Huang, and Jau-Ching Wu

OBJECTIVE

This prospective randomized study aimed to investigate the accuracy, radiation exposure, and surgical workflow optimization of a novel intraoperative spinal navigation system using preoperative fan-beam (FB) CT versus the classic intraoperative cone-beam (CB) CT in patients undergoing minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF).

METHODS

In this two-arm, single-center, randomized study, the authors evaluated the safety and clinical outcomes of a novel navigation system for pedicle screw placement in spine surgery.

RESULTS

The accuracy of pedicle screw placement in the experimental group (FB group) was 94.38%, while it was 94.55% in the control group (CB group). Notably, the intraoperative radiation exposure to patients in the FB CT group (mean 0.361 ± 0.261 mSv) was significantly lower than that in the CB CT group (mean 6.526 ± 13.591 mSv) (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, the intraoperative preparation time for screw placement in the FB group (mean 10.6 ± 5.62 minutes) was significantly lower than that in the CB group (mean 17.6 ± 5.59 minutes) (p = 0.0004). No significant differences were observed for blood loss during surgery, total radiation exposure to surgeons, mean time for inserting a single pedicle screw, revision surgery rate, patients’ reported outcomes, and length of postoperative hospital stay between the two groups. Significant differences were observed for intraoperative radiation exposure to patients and the preparation time for pedicle screw placement.

CONCLUSIONS

The preoperative FB CT-based intraoperative spinal navigation system demonstrated comparable accuracy and safety when compared with the intraoperative CB CT-based system. Moreover, the FB CT-based system had a shorter time for screw placement and reduced intraoperative radiation exposure to patients. These findings support the potential benefits of adopting this novel navigation system to enhance surgical precision and reduce radiation-related risks in MIS-TLIF procedures.

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine Publish Before Print

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Letter to the Editor. Intracranial invasive group A streptococcus: importance of culture-independent diagnostics

Louise Kelly, Binu Dinesh, Karina O’Connell, Ciara O’Connor, and Sinead O’Donnell

In Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics Publish Before Print