The goal of this article is to report our experience on intradural lumbar disc herniation, consider the causes of this pathology, and analyze it from clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic perspectives with a particular emphasis on the role of MRI in preoperative diagnosis. We analyzed nine patients treated surgically for intradural lumbar disc hernia. All of them underwent surgery, and hemilaminectomy was performed. In six cases, the diagnosis of intradural herniation was definitive and, in the three remaining, it was confirmed at surgery. In five cases, CT (with no contrast medium) of the lumbar area revealed disc herniation, but none could it confirm its intradural location. Myelography was performed in two cases but also could not prove intradural extrusion. Magnetic resonance imaging study was used in four cases. In five, the postoperative outcome has been excellent. Patients 6 and 9 recovered anal function postoperatively; patient 6 suffered from occasional and mild micturition urgency. The three patients previously operated (1, 2, 7) showed good outcome. Presently, we believe that radiologic diagnosis of intradural herniation is possible in carefully selected patients, thanks to MRI with gadolinium.

We believe that awareness of these complications and their causes, prompt recognition of the symptoms and immediate and multimodality therapies are essential tools to achieve successful results.

Multicentric gliomas are interesting and well-recognised entities with a yet unknown rate of occurrence. Single cases or small series are reported in the literature accessible to us, and we think this is the first large series describing true multicentric gliomas. We reviewed 25 patients selected according to the criteria defined by Batzdorf and Malamud. Multicentricity was found in 2% of patients with malignant gliomas. Longer survival was observed in patients who underwent surgical excision of the multicentric lesions. Multicentric tumours are rare clinical entities. Our data suggest that they should be surgically removed whenever possible, and histopathologic examination of the lesions is always advisable if they are located in sites inaccessible to surgery. Stereotactic biopsy represents a safe and satisfactory method for achieving sure diagnosis.

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The aim of the study was to discuss our management strategy and results of patients affected by meningiomas infiltrating the superior sagittal sinus. We describe 328 patients with meningiomas that were infiltrating the superior sagittal sinus. All the patients were surgically treated. Patients with meningioma involving the anterior segment of the sinus underwent total sinus resection. Patients with meningioma that was infiltrating the middle and posterior third of the sinus had a complete sinus removal if the dural sinus was completely obliterated by meningioma and incomplete removal if the sinus was not occluded. The tumour removal was grade I according to Simpson's grading system in 193 cases and grade II or III in the remainder. The superior longitudinal sinus was totally resected in 215 patients and marginally resected in 113. The tumour reappeared in 38 patients. The number of re-interventions did not affect clinical outcome. The extent of removal significantly influenced the regrowth or recurrence rate. Our results suggest that the risks of aggressive surgery, with sinus reconstruction, may be avoided, and conservative surgery for meningiomas that are infiltrating but not obliterating the superior sagittal sinus may be a reasonable choice.

We believe that in specific cases it is reasonable to acknowledge an etiological association between a severe head trauma and the development of a glioma. This assumption is further sustained if there is radiological and surgical documentation of the absence of neoplasia at the moment of the trauma.