Natural Dural Defect of the Posterior Fossa Dura as a Risk Factor for Postoperative Cerebrospinal Fluid Leakage.

Background: During microvascular decompression surgery (MVD), small (2-3 mm diameter) natural dural defects have been noticed occasionally but never reported. These tiny dural defects cannot be detected by preoperative imaging studies or even in anatomical cadaver dissection, but may lead to complications including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. Our objective was to analyze the features of these natural defects in the posterior fossa dura.

A Large Mass Mimicking Calcified Hematoma of the Skull Showing Involvement of Myeloma Cells and a Good Response to Irradiation.

Patients with multiple myeloma often show skull bone involvement, although in most cases this is manifested as skull erosion and large masses develop only rarely. Here we report a patient who presented with a large cranial mass mimicking a subdural hematoma with calcification. The tumor shrunk with 37.

Does arteriosclerosis contribute to hemifacial spasm?

Background: Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is caused by pulsative vascular compression of the root exit zone (REZ) of the facial nerve. However, the mechanism that causes the offending vessels to compress the REZ has not been clarified. Elongation of intracranial arteries due to arteriosclerosis is one possibility, but such arteriosclerotic changes are not observed very frequently among patients with HFS.

Pontine venous congestion due to dural arteriovenous fistula of the cavernous sinus: Case report and review of the literature.

Background: We report herein a case of cavernous sinus (CS)-dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) with brainstem venous congestion that was successfully treated by transarterial embolization, followed by radiotherapy.

Case Description: An 80-year-old woman presented with right eye chemosis and left hemiparesis. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed hyperintensity of the pons.