CCASIONALLY the neurosurgeon is confronted with a situation in which he wishes he could safely a p p r o a c h a n d leave the cavernous portion of the carotid artery. T h i s paper records a case of t r a u m a tic c a r o t i d-c a v e r n o u s fistula which was carried t h r o u g h m a n y stages, i n c l u d i n g definitive surgery, a n d which i l l u m i n a t e d certain related a n a t o m i c a l observations.
Eleven cases of traumatic intracranial aneurysms, six saccular and five arteriovenous, are presented with an operative mortality of 22.2%, which compares favorably with the few reports in the literature. These lesions are usually associated with serious head injuries. The diagnosis is often delayed or overlooked as the surgeon's attention is distracted by the presence of an accompanying intracranial hematoma. With increasing replacement of angiography by computerized tomography in aneurysm diagnosis, these aneurysms are even more likely to escape detection. They should be suspected in any patient who deteriorates within 2 weeks of the trauma. Conservative management carries a mortality rate of about 50%. Because of their superficial location, they are amenable to successful surgical extirpation. Improved mortality depends on early recognition and surgical obliteration.
✓ The techniques and advantages of the direct approach to carotid cavernous fistulas with repair of the fistula and preservation of the carotid artery are discussed with illustrative case reports. The surgical significance of the anatomy of the parasellar venous structures and their relationship to the carotid artery are discussed. Two points emphasized are that it is possible to operate within the cavernous sinus and still be outside both the venous and arterial components of the fistula, and that, by one means or another, the carotid should be preserved.
We have investigated the clinical presentation, laxative use and histopathology of 38 patients with a histological diagnosis of melanosis coli and measured the colonic epithelial apoptosis in these cases. The presence of lipofuscin was confirmed in all cases. Fifteen of the cases had constipation, whilst eight had diarrhoea. Neither constipation nor diarrhoea was present in 13 cases and both were present, at different times, in two. Laxatives had been used in all those with constipation, in only one with diarrhoea and in none of the others. The mean apoptotic count was significantly increased in those with melanosis coli compared with the controls. In the majority of cases with constipation there was no other abnormality, whilst an additional diagnosis was present in the majority of the remainder. Colonic epithelial apoptosis was increased in melanosis coli and the majority of cases were not associated with laxative use. These results support the proposed role of apoptosis in melanosis coli, but indicate that melanosis coli is a non-specific marker of increased apoptosis with many possible causes, of which the use of laxatives is only one.
The lengthy, continuous, slender extradural neural axis compartment (EDNAC), which extends from the coccyx to the orbit, has been not so much discovered as recognized. Through this compartment run arteries, myelinated and unmyelinated nerves, and valveless veins. Adipose tissue is abundant in the orbital and spinal segments, possibly due to movement requirements, although it is very sparse in the skull base segment, the last segment to be recognized as a continuation of the EDNAC, which connects Breschet's veins to the orbit. The lateral sellar compartment (in older terminology, the cavernous sinus) is an enlarged segment of this EDNAC along the skull base connecting the orbit with the extradural space through the superior orbital fissure and down the dorsum to Breschet's veins of the basilar process of the occipital bone. Understanding the continuity of the EDNAC should help the student understand any segment, particularly the skull base. As Batson noted, "Living anatomy is slowly editing and replacing the anatomy of the dead room."
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