Hai Qian

Outcome of Radical Surgical Resection for Craniopharyngioma with Hypothalamic Preservation: A Single-Center Retrospective Study of 1054 Patients

OBJECTIVE A retrospective review of the surgical outcome for patients with craniopharyngioma (CP) treated in a single neurosurgical center with surgical resection using visualization to ensure hypothalamic preservation. METHODS The study included 1054 patients. Before 2003, a pterional cranial approach was preferred for 78% of patients; after 2004, the unifrontal basal interhemispheric approach was performed in 79.1% of patients. RESULTS Complete tumor resection was achieved in 89.6% of patients; vision improved in 47.1% of patients who had preoperative vision impairment. However, diabetes insipidus worsened in 70.4% of patients and new-onset diabetes insipidus occurred in 29.7% of the remaining patients. Pituitary stalk preservation occurred in 48.9% of cases. There were 89.6% of patients with total tumor removal; 13.3% of patients showed tumor recurrence within an average of 2.8 years. Of 69 follow-up patients with a subtotal or partial resection, 94.2% showed tumor recurrence within an average of 4.3 months. Of the total patients, 82.3% fully recovered. CONCLUSIONS This study has shown that radical surgical resection of CP using microsurgical excision can be effective with a good patient outcome without more limitations on each individual tumor of distinct features despite the impact of recent endoscopic techniques on CP surgery. The surgical approach depends on a direct and wider visualization of CP located in the midline with preserving hypothalamic structures by identifying some hypothalamic landmark structures. After surgery, most patients can resume their normal activities even after aggressive tumor removal, although patients require postoperative hormonal replacement.

Internal maxillary artery to intracranial artery bypass: a case series of 31 patients with chronic internal carotid/middle cerebral arterial-sclerotic steno-occlusive disease.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of internal maxillary artery (IMA) – radial artery graft (RAG) – middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass surgery for chronic arterial-sclerotic severe stenosis or occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) or MCA. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 31 patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease who underwent bypass surgery of the IMA with a RAG of the MCA. Twenty-seven patients had complete occlusion of the ICA or MCA, and four patients had severe stenosis of the M1 segment of the MCA. Results: Patent IMA-RAG-MCA in 30 (96.8%) patients was confirmed by angiography after surgery. One case developed a new motor aphasia due to unsuccessful bypass. Eleven transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and five ischemic strokes resolved following surgery. The other 14 cases showed some improvement without ischemic events at one month following surgery. Prior to surgery, mean ± SD National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 5.4 ± 1.1 in the ischemic stroke group. In the first month post-procedure, the NIHSS score decreased significantly to 3.8 ± 1.2, (p < 0.01). Perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) or computed tomography perfusion (CTP) indicated improved hemodynamics in 30 patients. In addition, seven patients demonstrated improved glucose metabolism on 18-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) postoperatively. No new neurological deficit occurred in the 30 patients during a 2.19 ± 1.59 years of follow-up. Conclusions: By supplying an adequate flow to a larger flow territory of chronically stenotic/occlusive major cerebral arteries, IMA bypass surgery is efficient for restoring hemodynamics in selected patients and improving their neurological deficits.

Bilateral cavernous carotid aneurysms treated by two-stage extracranial-intracranial bypass followed by parent artery occlusion: case report and literature review

Bilateral cavernous carotid aneurysms (CCAs) are often not amenable to neurosurgical clipping or endovascular coiling. Here, we report the case of a 50-year-old female who presented with a 1-year history of gradual severe headache. Preoperative angiograms revealed bilateral CCAs. Among these findings, the right giant CCA had been trapped after the external carotid artery-saphenous vein-middle cerebral artery (ECA-SV-MCA) bypass 8 years prior. Additionally, the left CCA was again trapped after the internal maxillary artery-radial artery-middle cerebral artery (IMA-RA-MCA) bypass, followed by parent artery occlusion (PAO), because of the enlargement of a 0.4-cm aneurysm to a 1.3-cm aneurysm during the 5th to 8th years following surgery. Postoperative radiologic findings proved that the aneurysms disappeared with good graft patency of the bilateral anastomoses and excellent filling of the bilateral MCA territories. This is the first case of bilateral CCAs treated with two stages of bilateral high-flow extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass, including an IMA-RA-MCA bypass.

The History and Evolution of Internal Maxillary Artery Bypass

Internal maxillary artery (IMA) bypass has gained momentum in the last 5 years for the treatment of complex cerebrovascular disorders and skull base tumors. However, some issues regarding this treatment modality have been proposed. As one of the most experienced neurosurgical teams to perform internal maxillary artery bypass in the world (>100 clinical cases), we reviewed the literature in aspects of basic anatomy of maxillary artery with its variations to the lateral pterygoid muscle, initial anastomosis modalities, and subsequent exposure techniques in cadaver studies, preoperative arterial evaluation methods, optimal interposed graft selections, and surgical outcome in the management of complex aneurysms, skull base tumors, and steno-occlusive disorders.

Is Internal Maxillary Artery Bypass Feasible without Zygomatic Osteotomy

LETTER: We read with great interest the article by Yagmurlu et al. 1 recently published in WORLD NEUROSURGERY regarding new landmarks for localizing the internal maxillary artery (IMA) in the infratemporal fossa when performing IMA-to-middle cerebral artery high-flow bypass. In their article, the authors proposed that the IMA can be reached by following the deep temporal artery or the sphenoid groove/pterygomaxillary fissure. In addition, the authors illustrated an easier method to perform proximal anastomosis between the IMA and a graft conduit without zygomatic osteotomy or resection of the middle fossa floor. We commend their achievements in treating a meningioma involving the internal carotid artery using an IMA procedure with their newly proposed, less invasive method. However, we believe that some opinions regarding the exposure of the IMA set forth in the original article should be discussed.

Measurement of Blood Flow in an Intracranial Artery Bypass From the Internal Maxillary Artery by Intraoperative Duplex Sonography

This study explored the hemodynamic characteristics of a subcranial–intracranial bypass from the internal maxillary artery by measuring blood flow on intraoperative duplex sonography. The hemodynamic parameters of the internal maxillary artery (n = 20), radial artery (n = 20), internal maxillary artery–middle cerebral artery bypass (n = 42), and internal maxillary artery–posterior cerebral artery bypass (n = 9) were measured by intraoperative duplex sonography. There was no significant difference in the internal diameters of the internal maxillary and radial arteries (mean ± SD, 2.51 ± 0.34 versus 2.56 ± 0.22 mm; P = .648). The mean radial artery graft length for subcranial–intracranial bypasses was 88.5 ± 12.78 mm (95% confidence interval [CI], 80.8–90.2 mm). Internal maxillary artery–middle cerebral artery bypasses required a shorter radial artery graft than internal maxillary artery–posterior cerebral artery bypasses (77.8 ± 2.47 versus 104.8 ± 4.77 mm; P = .001). The mean flow volumes were 85.3 ± 18.5 mL/min (95% CI, 76.6–93.9 mL/min) for the internal maxillary artery, 72.6 ± 26.4 mL/min (95% CI, 64.3–80.9 mL/min) for internal maxillary artery–middle cerebral artery bypasses, and 45.4 ± 6.7 mL/min (95% CI, 40.7–50.0 mL/min) for internal maxillary artery–posterior cerebral artery bypasses. All grafts were opened after the success of the salvage procedures had been established, and the early patency rates (1 month after the operation) were 95% for internal maxillary artery–middle cerebral artery bypasses and 100% the internal maxillary artery–posterior cerebral artery bypasses. Measurement of blood flow by intraoperative sonography can be helpful in decision making and predicting graft patency and success after neurosurgical bypass procedures.

Ectopic recurrence of craniopharyngioma: Reporting three new cases

Abstract Ectopic recurrence of craniopharyngioma is extremely rare following transcranial procedures of primary tumour. Here we describe 3 new cases of ectopic recurrence along the surgical route after transcranial gross total resection of primary tumour. All 3 cases are male adults – 2 of them had papillary-type tumour with the other being adamantinomatous. All ectopic tumours were safely resected via repeated craniotomy. Long-term surveillance of patients with resected craniopharyngioma is essential.

Microsurgical Suturing Technique for Blood-Blister Aneurysm of Middle Cerebral Artery: 2-Dimensional Surgical Video

Microsurgical or endovascular treatment for blood-blister aneurysm remains a technical challenge. This video demonstrates a microsurgical suturing technique for ruptured blood-blister aneurysm of the left middle cerebral artery. The patients experienced favorable clinical outcomes without apparent stenosis of the normal vessel wall.

The re-anastomosis end-to-end bypass technique: a comprehensive review of the technical characteristics and surgical experience

Re-anastomosis end-to-end bypass is a straightforward subtype of intracranial-intracranial reconstruction technique that has been utilized to treat complex aneurysms and skull base tumors. This simple technique involves connecting the cut ends of an afferent and efferent artery under added tension after excising the lesion. The current study aims to provide a detailed description of the technical pitfalls, ideal anatomical sites and indications, and clinical outcomes for intracranial complex disorders. A literature search was performed using the terms “intracranial-intracranial bypass,” “re-anastomosis bypass,” “reconstructive bypass,” “end-to-end bypass,” and “end-to-end anastomosis” to identify pertinent articles. Articles involving end-to-end re-anastomosis combined with other bypass methods were excluded. Computer-tablet-drawn illustrations of this technique are provided to enhance comprehension. Eighty-six patients who met our search and inclusion criteria were identified between 1978 and the present. However, comprehensive descriptions of medical records and neuroimaging were available in only 41 cases (40 complex aneurysms and a skull base tumor). Of 40 reported cases of complex cerebral aneurysms treated by this technique, the overall rate of full recovery without complication is 87.5% (35/40). Meanwhile, all aneurysms were completely eliminated from the circulation, with 92.5% of bypasses being patent. End-to-end re-anastomosis remains a simple modality in the microsurgical bypass armamentarium. Safe and effective surgical outcomes can be achieved in select cases that rarely involve perforators or branches.

A comparison of haemodynamics between subcranial-intracranial bypass and the traditional extracranial-intracranial bypass

Abstract Background: Ischemic cerebrovascular diseases are traditionally treated using an extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass. The use of the internal maxillary artery (IMA) in the subcranial-intracranial (SC-IC) bypass was recently described as an alternative treatment. However, the haemodynamics of this new approach have not been defined. Methods: The haemodynamic parameters (flow volume [FV], internal diameter [ID], time-averaged mean velocity [TAM], pulsatility index [PI] and resistance index [RI]) of the IMA-radial artery graft (RAG)-middle cerebral artery (MCA) (n = 12) bypass and superficial temporal artery (STA)-MCA bypass (n = 18) were measured using intraoperative duplex ultrasonography and compared. Results: The FV was 81.36 ± 30.41 (62.05–100.70) ml/min for the IMA-RAG-MCA bypass. This was significantly higher than that of the STA-MCA bypass (27.25 ± 9.32 (22.62–31.88) ml/min; P < .01). The ID and TAM in the IMA-RAG-MCA bypass were higher than in the STA-MCA bypass (P < .01; P < .01). No significant differences were observed in PI (P ≈ .21) and RI (P ≈ .08). The early patency rate (one month after the operation) was 100% for the IMA-RAG-MCA bypass and 94% for the STA-MCA bypass. Conclusions: The IMA-RAG-MCA bypass provides moderate to high blood flow to the revascularized territory and blood flow was higher by this method than the STA-MCA bypass.