Twenty-four atherosclerotic extracranial carotid artery aneurysms were encountered in 21 patients during a 25-year period. These represented 46% of all extracranial carotid artery aneurysms diagnosed at the University of Michigan during this period. Neurologic symptoms including amaurosis fugax, transient ischemic attacks, and stroke were present in 50% of the patients. An asymptomatic pulsatile neck mass occurred in 33%. Surgical therapy was undertaken for 18 aneurysms, and nonoperative treatment was pursued in the remaining six aneurysms. Operative therapy included 14 aneurysmectomies and four aneurysmorraphies. There were no surgical deaths. Transient perioperative neurologic deficits affected three of these patients (17%), and one individual (5%) experienced a permanent deficit. Transient cranial nerve deficits occurred in three patients (17%), and a permanent deficit was noted in one patient (5%). During a 7.6-year follow-up period no late strokes occurred among patients who were operated on. Nonoperative therapy was associated with three ipsilateral strokes during a mean follow-up period of 6.3 years. Atherosclerotic extracranial carotid artery aneurysms were associated with an exceptionally high stroke rate (50%) if treated nonoperatively. Prevention of late stroke justifies surgery, although perioperative neurologic deficits may accompany this therapy more often than with nonatherosclerotic carotid artery aneurysms.
The authors' experience with the intraoperative use of real-time ultrasonography during 21 neurosurgical procedures is reported. These procedures include neoplasm surgery in 18 cases, treatment of an arteriovenous malformation in one case, and ventricular catheter placement for hydrocephalus in two cases. In each of the neoplasm cases, the tumors were imaged just as well through the intact dura as on the brain surface itself. There were no cases in which the pathology could not easily be identified. The use of portable intraoperative ultrasonography in sterile coverings has proven to be extremely useful in localizing small subcortical neoplasms, as well as locating the solid and cystic portions of deep lesions. It has assisted in guiding needles for both biopsy and aspiration. It has also accurately identified and guided Silastic catheters during their placement in the ventricular system in cases of hydrocephalus. The authors have found real-time ultrasonography to be an important new tool in the operating room and will continue to rely on its imaging ability during selected procedures in the future.
Because of the rapid systemic clearance of BCNU (1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea), intra-arterial administration should provide a substantial advantage over intravenous administration for the treatment of malignant gliomas. Thirty-six patients were treated with BCNU every 6 to 8 weeks, either by transfemoral catheterization of the internal carotid or vertebral artery or through a fully implantable intracarotid drug delivery system, beginning with a dose of 200 mg/sq m body surface area. Twelve patients with Grade III or IV astrocytomas were treated after partial resection of the tumor without prior radiation therapy. After two to seven cycles of chemotherapy, nine patients showed a decrease in tumor size and surrounding edema on contrast-enhanced computerized tomography scans. In the nine responders, median duration of chemotherapy response from the time of operation was 25 weeks (range 12 to more than 91 weeks). The median duration of survival in the 12 patients was 54 weeks (range 21 to more than 156 weeks), with an 18-month survival rate of 42%. Twenty-four patients with recurrent Grade I to IV astrocytomas, whose resection and irradiation therapy had failed, received two to eight courses of intra-arterial BCNU therapy. Seventeen of these had a response or were stable for a median of 20 weeks (range 6 to more than 66 weeks). The catheterization procedure is safe, with no immediate complication in 111 infusions of BCNU. A delayed complication in nine patients has been unilateral loss of vision secondary to a retinal vasculitis. The frequency of visual loss decreased after the concentration of the ethanol diluent was lowered.
Twenty-four atherosclerotic extracranial carotid artery aneurysms were encountered in 21 patients during a 25-year period. These represented 46% of all extracranial carotid artery aneurysms diagnosed at the University of Michigan during this period. Neurologic symptoms including amaurosis fugax, transient ischemic attacks, and stroke were present in 50% of the patients. An asymptomatic pulsatile neck mass occurred in 33%. Surgical therapy was undertaken for 18 aneurysms, and nonoperative treatment was pursued in the remaining six aneurysms. Operative therapy included 14 aneurysmectomies and four aneurysmorraphies. There were no surgical deaths. Transient perioperative neurologic deficits affected three of these patients (17%), and one individual (5%) experienced a permanent deficit. Transient cranial nerve deficits occurred in three patients (17%), and a permanent deficit was noted in one patient (5%). During a 7.6-year follow-up period no late strokes occurred among patients who were operated on. Nonoperative therapy was associated with three ipsilateral strokes during a mean follow-up period of 6.3 years. Atherosclerotic extracranial carotid artery aneurysms were associated with an exceptionally high stroke rate (50%) if treated nonoperatively. Prevention of late stroke justifies surgery, although perioperative neurologic deficits may accompany this therapy more often than with nonatherosclerotic carotid artery aneurysms.
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