Randomized, controlled trials have shown significant improvement of survival after implantation of 1,3-bis(2-Chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) wafers for patients suffering from high-grade glioma. A combination of local chemotherapy with BCNU and concomitant radiochemotherapy with temozolomide (TMZ) appears to be attractive to enhance the overall survival, even though these treatments may potentially cumulate their toxicity. We report a clinical case of a patient submitted to this combined treatment protocol. Severe brain edema and a cystic formation in the surgical cavity rapidly developed. Data supporting the use of Gliadel® combined with TMZ comes from small retrospective studies, and some series have shown a very high rate of adverse events (AEs) when this multimodality treatment is applied. Combined protocols of local and systemic chemotherapy might provide survival benefits, although AEs seem currently underestimated.
The ideal treatment for intracranial aneurysms has been highly controversial in the last few decades. It is particularly difficult to decide between clipping vs. coiling when it comes to an aneurysm that has already been treated. The authors performed a review of the literature published in the last ten years amongst the main neurosurgical publications and make recommendations based on this evidence and the surgical experience of the eldest author of this paper (ES). A series of cases of recurrent, incompletely coiled aneurysms treated with surgery is presented. Conclusions: aneurysms with a convenient configuration and location for either clipping or coiling might be better managed by surgical clipping in young patients considering that this treatment achieves higher rates of occlusion with a lower incidence of rebleeding. In elderly patients, each case must be discussed.
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