Lateral position and utility of navigation for posterior fixation of unstable cervical fracture with ankylosing spondylitis.

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a seronegative spondyloarthropathy within the spectrum of rheumatologic diseases. The systemic inflammation that characterizes AS leads to bone resorption and reformation. Pathologic remodeling may include kyphosis, osteoporosis, and multi-segment auto-fusion.

Rare case of an extraosseous cervical chordoma with both intradural and extensive extraspinal involvement.

Background: Chordomas must be considered among the differential diagnoses for extradural spinal tumors, especially involving the clival or sacrococcygeal regions. They are often locally invasive and destructive to the osseous structures from which they arise, but rarely extend intradurally. Here, we report a unique chordoma that was intradural and spanned nearly four subaxial cervical vertebral levels.

Thoracic Spinal Cord Glioblastoma Mimicking Epidural Abscess: Case Report and Literature Review.

Spinal cord glioblastoma (SG) accounts for 1.5% of all spinal tumors and has a poor prognosis with survival ranging from 2 to 26 months from presentation. A 57-year-old male presented with one week of paraparesis and contrasted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of an epidural enhancing thoracic mass suspicious for an epidural abscess.

B-cell lymphoma presenting as multiple nerve sheath tumors.

Background: Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), accounting for 25-30 percent of cases in the United States.1 Extranodal sites are involved in approximately 40% of cases of DLBCL.

Case Description: In this report, we discuss the case of a patient with extranodal DLBCL within the cervical nerve roots that underwent surgical intervention due to the presence of cervical radiculopathy.

A Case-Based Review of the Management of Penetrating Brain Trauma.

Principles of penetrating head trauma management were established by Harvey Cushing in relation to the management of penetrating brain injuries of World War One. Cushing radically debrided the scalp and skull and aggressively irrigated wound tracks to remove foreign bodies. He would then obtain water-tight closure.

A Unique Presentation of an Intracranial Abscess Secondary to Retained Projectile after Debridement with Dural Closure.

Patients with penetrating head trauma with retained projectiles develop intracranial abscesses as a common complication. The most common presentation is a suddenly worsening headache. The most common pathogen identified is staphylococcus.