Iype Cherian

Cisternostomy: Replacing the age old decompressive hemicraniectomy?

Backround: Practical scenario in trauma neurosurgery comes with multiple challenges and limitations. It accounts for the maximum mortality in neurosurgery and yet the developing countries are still ill-equipped even for an emergency set-up for primary management of traumatic brain injuries. The evolution of modern neurosurgical techniques in traumatic brain injury has been ongoing for the last two centuries. However, it has always been a challenge to obtain a satisfactory clinical outcome, especially those following severe traumatic brain injuries. Other than the well-established procedures such as decompressive hemicraniectomy and those for acute and or chronic subdural hematomas and depressed skull fractures, contusions etcetera newer avenues for development of surgical techniques where indicated have been minimal. We are advocating a replacement for decompressive hemicranictomy, which would have the same indications as decompressive hemicraniectomy. The results of this procedure has been compared with the results of decompressive hemicraniectomy done in our institution and elsewhere and has been proven beyond doubts to be superior to decompressive hemicraniectomy. This procedure is elegant and can replace decompressive hemicraniectomy because of low morbidity and mortality. However, there is a steep learning curve and the microscope has to be used. Materials and Methods: Based on the clinical experience and observation of acute neurosurgical service in tertiary medical centers in a developing country, the procedure of cisternostomy in the management of trauma neurosurgery have been elucidated in the current study. The study proposes to apply the principles of microvascular surgery and skull base surgery in selected cases of severe traumatic brain injuries, thus replacing decompressive hemicraniectomy as the primary modality of treatment for indicated cases. Conclusion: Extensive opening of cisterns making use of skull base techniques to approach them in a swollen brain is a better option to decompressive hemicraniectomy for the same indications.

Conquering the odds: Cirsoid aneurysm with holocranial feeders-staged embolization, excision and grafting.

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of the scalp is an uncommon entity. Its management is difficult because of its high shunt flow, complex vascular anatomy, and possible cosmetic complications. The etiology of scalp AVMs that is, cirsoid aneurysm may be spontaneous or traumatic. Clinical symptoms frequently include pulsatile mass, headache, local pain, tinnitus; and less frequently, hemorrhage and necrosis. Selective angiography is the most common diagnosis method. Surgical excision is especially effective in AVMs and the most frequently used treatment method. Here, we present one such case where staged embolization, excision, and subsequent grafting was done.

Introducing the concept of “CSF‐shift edema” in traumatic brain injury

Brain edema after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) plays an important role in the outcome and survival of injured patients. It is also one of the main targets in the therapeutic approach in the current clinical practice. To date, the pathophysiology of traumatic brain swelling is complex and, being that it is thought to be mainly cytotoxic and vasogenic in origin, not yet entirely understood. However, based on new understandings of the hydrodynamic aspects of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), an additional mechanism of brain swelling can be considered. An increase in pressure into the subarachnoid space, secondary to traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, would result in a rapid shift of CSF from the cisterns, through the paravascular spaces, into the brain, resulting in an increase of brain water content. This mechanism of brain swelling would be termed as “CSF‐shift edema.”

Anatomy and physiology of cisternostomy.

Cisternostomy is defined as opening the basal cisterns to atmospheric pressure. This technique helps to reduce the intracranial pressure in severe head trauma as well as other conditions when the so-called sudden “brain swelling” troubles the surgeon. We elaborated the surgical anatomy of this procedure as well as the proposed physiology of how cisternostomy works. This novel technique may change the current trends in neurosurgery.

Lateral lumbar spondyloptosis

A 4-year-old girl presented to the emergency room of the Manipal Teaching Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Pokhara, Nepal, with history of a fall from a height of 10 m. After the fall she had flaccid paraplegia with no sensation below the groin, and no sensation of the bladder or bowel. On examination, she was conscious, cooperative, oriented to time, place, and person. Her blood pressure was 80/60 mmHg, pulse 120/min, visible deformity around the L1 region, grade 0 power in the lower limbs, no sensation below L1 bilaterally, and distension of the bladder. There was no other systemic injury. The X-ray showed a lateral lumbar spondyloptosis, with the L1 vertebral body almost parallel to the L2 body, which would have created the infamous “double vertebra sign” on CT scan had one been performed. Traumatic spondyloptosis, or grade V spondylolisthesis, is defined as greater than 100% traumatic subluxation of one vertebral body in the coronal or sagittal plane [1, 2]. The lateral view X-ray confirmed the diagnosis of spondyloptosis with the L1 body overlapping the L2 body. CT scan could not be done due to equipment malfunction. Complete fracture dislocation, or traumatic spondyloptosis, is rare in lumbar regions cranial to the lumbosacral junction, with only six cases previously reported [3–6, 7, 8]. On referring to journals, we found that this is the first reported case of a young patient with lateral lumbar spondyloptosis. The parents of the child opted for surgery, having beeen fully informed about the fact that her neurological recovery would be minimal. A L2, 3 laminectomy was done. Skin traction was performed, and per-operative reduction under direct vision was achieved. Laminar hooks and rods were used to maintain the reduction. She was kept on bed rest. She improved in power in the left lower limb from grade 0 to grade 3 within 2 days. However, her parents wanted her to be transferred home, and she was discharged. Int J Emerg Med (2009) 2:55–56 DOI 10.1007/s12245-009-0092-0

Case Report: Traumatic anterior cerebral artery aneurysm in a 4-year old child

Traumatic intracranial aneurysm in the proximal part of the anterior cerebral artery in the pediatric population has not been documented so far. Here we report the case of a 4 year-old child who developed a pseudo-aneurysm after minor head trauma and was managed successfully with trapping of the aneurysm. A ventriculo-peritoneal shunt was placed as the child became dependent on extraventricular drain during the post-operative period. The patient made excellent recovery in neurological status within 1 month of post-operative clinical follow up.

Traumatic Cervical Spondyloptosis in a Neurologically Stable Patient: A Therapeutic Challenge.

This is a case report of a neurologically intact patient following posttraumatic cervical spondyloptosis. We discuss the disease, management protocol and some surgical nuances to prevent any damage to the cord during different stages of its treatment.

Surgical technique for cisternostomy: A review

The evolution of modern neurosurgical techniques in traumatic brain injury has been ongoing for the last two centuries. However, it has always been a challenge to obtain an effective clinical outcome, especially in those following severe traumatic brain injuries. Other than the well-established procedures for acute and/or chronic subdural hematomas and depressed skull fractures, newer avenues for the development of surgical techniques, where indicated, have been minimal. The study proposes to apply the principles of microvascular surgery and skull base surgery in selected cases of severe traumatic brain injuries.

Prospective observational research on the clinical profile and outcome analysis among a cohort of patients sustaining traumatic cervical spine and cord injury in a peripheral tertiary spine care centre in Nepal

Background: In developing nations like Nepal, spinal cord injury has multispectral consequences for both the patient and their family members. It has the tendency to cripple and handicap the patients, and burn out their caretakers, both physically and mentally. Furthermore, the centralization of health care with only a handful of dedicated rehabilitation centers throughout Nepal further places patients into disarray. This study was carried out as a pilot study to determine the modes of injury, age groups affected, clinical profiles and patterns of injury sustained, as well as the efficacy of managing a subset of patients, who have sustained cervical spine and cord injuries. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study comprising of 163 patients enrolled over a period of three years that were managed in the spine unit of College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, Nepal. Results: Road traffic accidents were implicated in 51% of these patients. 65% of them were in the age group of 30-39 years. Traumatic subluxation occurred in 73 patients with maximum involvement of the C4/5 region (28.76%). Good outcome was seen in patients with ASIA ‘C’ and ‘D’ with 55% of patients showed improvement from ‘C’ to ‘D’ and 95% of patients showed improvement from ‘D’ to ‘E’ at 1 year follow up. The overall mortality in the patients undergoing operative interventions was only 1.98%. Conclusions: The prevalence of cervical spine injuries in the outreach area is still significant. The outcome of managing these patients, even in the context of a resource limited setup in a spine unit outside the capital city of a developing nation, can be as equally as effective and efficient compared to the outcome from a well-equipped and dedicated spine unit elsewhere.

Role of computed tomography scores and findings to predict early death in patients with traumatic brain injury: A reappraisal in a major tertiary care hospital in Nepal.

Background: Glasgow Coma Scale has been a long sought model to classify patients with head injury. However, the major limitation of the score is its assessment in the patients who are either sedated or under the influence of drugs or intubated for airway protection. The rational approach for prognostication of such patients is the utility of scoring system based on the morphological criteria based on radiological imaging. Among the current armamentarium, a scoring system based on computed tomography (CT) imaging holds the greatest promise in conquering our conquest for the same. Methods: We included a total of 634 consecutive neurosurgical trauma patients in this series, who presented with mild-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) from January 2013 to April 2014 at a tertiary care center in rural Nepal. All pertinent medical records (including all available imaging studies) were reviewed by the neurosurgical consultant and the radiologist on call. Patients’ worst CT image scores and their outcome at 30 days were assessed and recorded. We then assessed their independent performance in predicting the mortality and also tried to seek the individual variables that had significant interplay for determining the same. Results: Both imaging score (Marshall) and clinical score (Rotterdam) can be used to reliably predict mortality in patients with acute TBI with high prognostic accuracy. Other specific CT characteristics that can be used to predict early mortality are traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, midline shift, and status of the peri-mesencephalic cisterns. Conclusion: We demonstrated in this cohort that though the Marshall score has the high predictive power to determine the mortality, better discrimination could be sought through the application of the Rotterdam score that encompasses various individual CT parameters. We thereby recommend the use of such comprehensive prognostic model so as to augment our predictive power for properly dichotomizing the prognosis of the patients with TBI. In the future, it will therefore be important to develop prognostic models that are applicable for the majority of patients in the world they live in, and not just a privileged few who can use resources not necessarily representative of their societal environment.