Isolated unstable burst fractures of the fifth lumbar vertebra: functional and radiological outcome after posterior stabilization with reconstruction of the anterior column: About 6 cases and literature review.

Introduction: L5 burst fractures represent a small percentage of all spine fractures. Treatment strategy has not yet been standardized. Anatomical features and their biomechanical characteristics create fracture patterns which differ from those at the thoracolumbar junction.

Postsurgical Pantoea calida meningitis: a case report.

Introduction: Pantoea calida, a recently described environmental Enterobacteriaceae organism, has not yet been associated with human infection.

Case Presentation: We report a case of postoperative meningitis caused by P. calida.

The epidural approach to the Meckel's cave: a how I do it.

Background: Meckel's cave (MC) is a meningeal cleft lying in the middle fossa laterally to the cavernous sinus. Tumours that develop inside the MC may require a surgical resection. The authors describe the surgical technique of the intracranial epidural approach to the MC.

Sulfonamide resistance in a disseminated infection caused by Nocardia wallacei: a case report.

Introduction: Nocardial infections, although rare, are challenging for clinicians to treat. Recent contradictory reports of sulfonamide resistance have raised concerns about using this drug to treat nocardial infections.

Case Presentation: A 62-year-old immunocompetent Caucasian woman showed disseminated pulmonary nodules and a brain abscess by chest computed tomography and brain magnetic resonance imaging, respectively.

Management of radiation/radiosurgical complications and failures.

To describe the incidence and the course of complications after the radiosurgical treatment of vestibular schwannomas, the authors reviewed their own experience and reviewed the literature. Failure is described in less than 3% of cases, and this had to be distinguished from transient enlargement of tumor volume. In case of failure, microsurgical resection or another radiosurgical procedure should be discussed.

Decision making for the surgical approach of posterior petrous bone meningiomas.

Object: The authors undertook this study to examine the surgical approaches used to treat posterior petrous bone meningiomas at a single institution and retrospectively evaluate their surgical strategy based on a previously published classification.

Methods: Cases in which craniotomies were performed to treat posterior petrous bone meningiomas between 2002 and 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Data were examined from 57 patients who were treated for 59 tumors.

How I do it: epidural anterior petrosectomy.

Background: Among the potential approaches to access the petroclival area, epidural anterior petrosectomy (EAP) appears to be the most direct and conservative transpetrous route. In this article, we aim to detail the relevant surgical steps necessary to perform EAP in a reproducible and safe manner.

Method: The temporo-pterional bone flap is tailored to access the floor of the middle fossa and expose the foramen ovale and foramen spinosum.

Posterior fossa volume increase after surgery for Chiari malformation Type I: a quantitative assessment using magnetic resonance imaging and correlations with the treatment response.

Object: The aim of this paper was to measure the posterior fossa (PF) volume increase resulting from a given-sized occipital craniectomy in Chiari malformation Type I surgery and to analyze its correlations with the PF size and the treatment response, with the perspective of tailoring the amount of bone removal to the patient-specific PF dimensions.

Methods: Between January 2005 and June 2006, 11 adult patients with symptomatic Chiari malformation Type I underwent a standardized PF decompression. A prospective evaluation with clinical examination, functional grading, and MR imaging measurement protocols was performed pre- and postoperatively.

Spinal cord compression due to C4 vertebral arch osteochondroma.

Osteochondromas are usually benign bone tumors found on the metaphysis of long bones. These tumors are rarely located on the spine especially at cervical level. This report presents the case of a 23-year-old man who had previously developed tetraparesis at the age of 13 after infectious myelitis.

[Reconstruction of the cranial vault using CAD/CAM-fabricated glass bioceramic implants].

Background And Purpose: Reconstruction of a cranial vault after craniectomy is an esthetic and functional challenge. The quest for the ideal implant that would mimic an original bone graft has tested many materials such as bone implants and artificial substitutes. The aim of this multicenter study was to report a set of preliminary results of cranioplasty using bioceramic implants made of Bioverit® II.

[Primitive malignant rhabdoid tumor of the central nervous system in an adolescent. A case study].

Primitive malignant rhabdoid tumors of the central nervous system are rare and have a poor prognosis. Adult and adolescent cases are exceptional. We report the case of a 16-year-old girl who presented an intratumoral hemorrhage in a rhabdoid tumor.

[Spinal cord compression caused by idiopathic dorsal epidural lipomatosis: Case report and critical review of the literature].

We report the case of a patient with spinal cord compression evolving over 36 months with spastic paraparesis. Anatomic imagery showed epidural lipomatosis. No predisposing factors were found.

Incidence of basioccipital hypoplasia in Chiari malformation type I: comparative morphometric study of the posterior cranial fossa. Clinical article.

Object: The chronic tonsillar herniation defining Chiari malformation Type I (CMI) is thought to result from overcrowding of a normally developing hindbrain within a congenitally small posterior cranial fossa (PCF) due to occipital hypoplasia. The goals in the present study were to authenticate the cranioencephalic disproportion in a group of patients with CMI and to discuss new developmental aspects according to which part of the occipital bone was underdeveloped.

Methods: The authors retrospectively examined a group of 17 patients with CMI.

Hearing preservation and facial nerve function after microsurgery for intracanalicular vestibular schwannomas: comparison of middle fossa and retrosigmoid approaches.

Purpose: Therapeutic options for vestibular schwannomas (VS) include microsurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery and conservative management. Early treatment of intracanalicular vestibular schwannomas (IVS) may be advisable because their spontaneous course will show hearing loss in most cases. Advanced microsurgical techniques and continuous intraoperative monitoring of cranial nerves may allow hearing preservation (HP) without facial nerve damage.

Transcranial resection of a large sinonasal juvenile psammomatoid ossifying fibroma.

Introduction: Juvenile psammomatoid ossifying fibroma (JPOF) is a benign but potentially locally aggressive fibroosseous lesion predominantly arising in the paranasal sinuses in children and young adults. Intracranial extension is rare but occurs sometimes. In such cases, tumor resection may often require the combination of neurosurgical and facial approaches.

Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy treatment of cavernous sinus meningiomas: a study of 100 cases.

Purpose: We discuss our experiences with fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSR) in the treatment of cavernous sinus meningiomas.

Methods And Materials: From 1995 to 2006, we monitored 100 patients diagnosed with cavernous sinus meningiomas; 84 female and 16 male patients were included. The mean patient age was 56 years.

Intracranial teratomas in children: the role and timing of surgical removal.

Object: In this study, the authors report their experience with the surgical treatment of intracranial teratomas with an emphasis on the indications for delayed resection after oncological treatment.

Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed the cases of 14 children with intracranial teratomas. The mean age at diagnosis was 10.

Microsurgical treatment of intracanalicular vestibular schwannomas.

Early treatment of intracanalicular vestibular schwannomas (IVSs) may be advisable because their spontaneous course will show hearing loss in most cases. Advanced microsurgical techniques and continuous intraoperative monitoring of cranial nerves may allow hearing preservation (HP) without facial nerve damage. However, there are still controversies about the definition of HP and the best surgical approach that should be used.

Facial nerve outcome after microsurgical resection of vestibular schwannoma.

The risk of facial nerve palsy after microsurgical removal of vestibular schwannoma cannot be totally eradicated. Beyond the functional problem, patients have to overcome the consequences of cosmetic disturbances, particularly the psychosocial difficulties and the decrease in quality of life due to this palsy. Taken together, the data from our personal experience and analysis of the literature indicate that the major predictor of postoperative facial deficit is tumor size.

Intramedullary spinal cord cavernous angioma in children: case report and literature review.

Introduction: Intramedullary cavernous angiomas (ImCA) of the spinal cord are very uncommon malformations especially in the pediatric population where only ten cases have yet been reported within the available literature.

Case Report: In this paper, the authors report the case of a 12-year-old girl presenting with a T11 level hematomyelia because of a cavernous angioma. Microsurgical excision was performed with good clinical outcome and no magnetic resonance imaging evidence of residual cavernoma 30 months later.

Endovascular treatment of middle cerebral artery aneurysms as first option: a single center experience of 92 aneurysms.

Background And Purpose: We conducted a retrospective evaluation of the results of endovascular treatment (EVT) of middle cerebral artery aneurysms (MCAAs) in a center where embolization is the first treatment option considered.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-two MCAAs were diagnosed in 87 patients between September 2001 and January 2006. The strategy of treatment (endovascular versus surgical), the clinical and angiographic results of embolization, and the ensuing complications are described.