Direct cochlear nerve monitoring: first report on a new atraumatic, self-retaining electrode.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of a new atraumatic, self-retaining cranial nerve electrode for direct cochlear nerve monitoring during cerebellopontine angle surgery.

Study Design: Prospective clinical investigation.

Setting: The Skull Base Surgery Center at Kaiser Permanente, San Diego, a tertiary referral center for neurotologic and skull-base surgery within Southern California Permanente Medical Group.

Advantages of a new, atraumatic, self-retaining electrode for direct cochlear nerve monitoring.

Direct cochlear nerve monitoring during posterior fossa surgery offers the surgeon real-time information concerning auditory stams. However, routine utilization of this monitoring technique has been hampered by electrode designs that have not allowed the maintenance of a consistent contact between the nerve and electrode. We report on our experience with a new electrode designed to maintain consistent, atraumatic contact with the cochlear nerve and discuss the advantages of this electrode over existing wick and ball type electrodes.

Pain subsequent to resection of acoustic neuromas via suboccipital and translabyrinthine approaches.

Prolonged headache subsequent to excision of acoustic neuromas via a suboccipital approach has been cited as a significant complication of this procedure. However, few studies have sought to compare the incidence of postoperative headaches in patients undergoing either translabyrinthine or suboccipital approaches with surgical techniques designed to minimize this complication. We performed a retrospective survey of 52 patients having undergone either a suboccipital or translabyrinthine resection of acoustic neuromas.

Cerebral endometriosis. Case report.

A 20-year-old woman presented with a 3-year history of intermittent focal headaches and a generalized seizure. Computerized tomography demonstrated a hypodense ring-enhancing cystic right parietal lobe lesion. At operation, a chocolate-colored cyst was excised which on histological examination proved to be endometriosis.

Acute responses to experimental blunt head trauma. Topography of cerebral cortical edema.

Anesthetized cats subjected to impact followed by acceleration and rotation of the skull were sacrificed at 15 minutes or 6 hours after injury and were selected for study if unilateral cerebral contusion was present. Widespread areas of cerebral cortex were examined bilaterally for edema, using measurement of tissue density with an organic gradient, and for breakdown of the blood-brain barrier to plasma protein tagged with Evans blue dye. At both times tested, a halo of vasogenic edema (Evans blue stain plus decreased density) was present in the cortex surrounding areas of contusion.