Giant cell tumors (GCT) are generally benign, commonly affecting young adults, with a slight preponderance in females. They are locally aggressive with a high rate of local recurrence. Most of them are found in the epiphysis of long bones, making the base of the skull a rare site. We report the case of a 35-year-old female, who presented with neurological symptoms of headache and diplopia. On magnetic resonance imaging, a space-occupying lesion was discovered in the clivus. Histopathology was diagnostic of a GCT. GCT arising from the clivus is extremely uncommon, with about 15 cases published in the literature. The present case highlights the rarity of this tumor and contributes to the existing literature with analysis and evaluation of the management strategies and prognosis.
Introduction Brain tumors remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. Preoperative estimation of tumor vascularity is of great significance for a neurosurgeon. Aim of our study was to correlate tumor blood flow (TBF) using arterial spin labeling perfusion imaging (ASL-PI) with microvessel density (MVD), tumor grade, and preoperative prognostication of brain tumors.
Materials and Methods This was a prospective observational cross-sectional study conducted in 63 patients of primary brain tumors already referred for magnetic resonance imaging. Absolute and relative mean and maximum TBF were calculated using ASL-PI and correlated with tumor grade and MVD at 10x and 40x magnificantion; thereby stydying the role of ASL-PI in brain tumor prognostication.
Results The mean of maxTBF values (mL/min/100 g) in the gliomas group, meningiomas group, schwannoma group, craniopharyngioma group, and hemangioblastoma group was 147.15, 251.55, 96.43, 43.3, and 578.3, respectively. The median of maxTBF value in the gliomas group, meningiomas group, schwannoma group, craniopharyngioma group, and hemangioblastoma group was 131.5, 158.63, 94.5, 43.4, and 578.3, respectively.
Discussion Significant correlation between meanTBF and MVD at 10X magnification (p-value < 0.001, rho =0.88) and a positive correlation between meanTBF and MVD at 40X magnification (p-value < 0.001) were seen. Significant correlation was also seen between maxTBF and MVD at 10X magnification (p-value < 0.001, rho = 0.91) and between maxTBF and MVD at 40X magnification. TBF in case of the hemangioblastoma was higher than other types of brain tumors (gliomas, meningiomas, and schwannomas). HighTBF value was seen in high-grade gliomas compared with low-grade gliomas with worse prognosis. TBF was high in typical meningiomas whereas low in atypical meningioma.
Conclusion TBF by ASL-PI can be considered a noninvasive in vivo marker in predicting the grade of brain tumors and further assist in envisaging prognosis of the patients with brain tumors.
Multi-segmental cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MS-CSM) can be dealt with by either anterior or posterior approaches. The aim of study was to analyze the surgical outcomes of MS-CSM treated by either anterior cervical discectomy with fusion and cervical plating (ACDF) or cervical laminoplasty (LP).
Sixty-five patients with MS-CSM (two or more levels) underwent either ACDF (n=13) or LP (n=52). ACDF was performed in patients having these criteria: (i) three or less levels involved, (ii) myeloradiculopathy, (iii) pre-dominant anterior compression radiologically, (iv) <50 years age. LP was chosen in: (i) more than three levels involved (ii) posterior compression radiologically, (iii) >50 years age. Patients were evaluated pre- and post-operatively on the basis of modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) scoring and Hirabayashi formula. Thirty-five patients were followed up (8 in ACDF group and 27 in LP group). The mean follow-up period was 37.5 months (12.5-54 months).
The mean pre-operative mJOA score in the ACDF group and the LP group was 11±2.62 and 10.6±2.04, respectively. The mean final post-operative mJOA score in the ACDF group (n=8) in follow-up was 14.12±2.36 (P<0.05) and in the LP group (n=27) was 14.63±1.64 (P<0.05). 86% had good-to-excellent outcome while 8.5% had poor outcome. Overall, the mean recovery was 64.73±18.9%. On analyzing two groups separately, the mean recovery in the ACDF group was 59.62±24.2, while in the LP group was 66.25±17.3 (P<0.05).
The choice of ACDF and LP in MS-CSM depends on pre-operative clinical and radiological parameters. If the surgical approach is chosen correctly, the surgery in MS-CSM can result in significant improvement in the clinical outcome of these patients.
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