Aprotinin and deep hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass with or without circulatory arrest for craniotomy.

Deep hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass with or without circulatory arrest has been used to facilitate the surgical repair of complex cerebrovascular lesions. The advantages of deep hypothermia have been tempered by the occurrence of coagulopathy that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. This study analyzed retrospectively the records of 13 patients who underwent cerebrovascular neurosurgery using deep hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass with or without circulatory arrest during the period 1993 through 1999.

Spontaneous spinal cerebrospinal fluid leaks and minor skeletal features of Marfan syndrome: a microfibrillopathy.

Object: Spontaneous spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are increasingly recognized as a cause of postural headaches. The authors examined a group of patients suffering from spontaneous spinal CSF leaks who also had minor skeletal features of Marfan syndrome for abnormalities of fibrillin-containing microfibrils.

Methods: Patients with spontaneous CSF leaks were evaluated for the clinical characteristics of connective tissue disorders.