Benjamin L. Crue

Surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and discussion of compression operation.

Compression of the posterior root fibers for the relief of trigeminal neuralgia is a simple surgical procedure that can be repeated, if necessary, without technical difficulty. The authors believe it is technically and statistically the surgical procedure of choice in this condition.In a series of 115 cases, 16 patients required reoperation because of recurrence of pain; in 11 of these 16 cases, recompression was done. Postoperative complications were minimal.

Observations on the value of clinical electromyography.

The electromyogram is of use in the diagnosis of lesions in which the demonstration of minimal lower motor neuron disease is of importance. These lesions can often be found in no other way. It is also of value in certain neurosurgical problems not frequently encountered. Furthermore, while the electromyogram is in no sense a substitute for a complete history and a careful physical and neurological examination, it sometimes leads to an important finding previously overlooked, or indicates the need for further investigative measures, such as myelography2.

Irradiation as a possible protection against the effects of middle cerebral artery occlusion

Abstract Significantly increased salvage after acute coronary artery occlusion in dogs by prior cardiac irradiation, has been reported by Senderoff and his co-workers. The present experiment was undertaken to see if a similar finding could be obtained in the central nervous system. Left middle cerebral artery occlusion was performed surgically in forty-one dogs. In all of the nonirradiated control animals in which the middle cerebral artery was found to be occluded 4 weeks after surgery, hemiparesis was demonstrated and a pale infarct found on postmortem examination. Of thirteen irradiated animals operated 4 weeks after irradiation and in which the middle cerebral artery occlusion was confirmed, seven exhibited clinical hemiparesis, and an even larger infarct; but all the infarcts were hemorrhagic. The remaining six irradiated animals appeared to have been protected from the expected effects of arterial occlusion; that is, they did not demonstrate the postoperative neurological deficit, and no significant infarct was found.