The Currarino syndrome is a rare triad that is a combination of a presacral mass, a congenital sacral bony abnormality and an anorectal malformation. We present 4 children with complete Currarino triad who were diagnosed using MRI. Our aim was to report the neurosurgical management of Currarino syndrome in children. All of the patients had chronic constipation and pain in the lumbosacral region. In the plain radiograph, 3 patients had a sacral scimitar-shaped bony abnormality, and 1 patient had total sacral agenesis. There was a narrow anal canal or narrow ventrally displaced anus in all patients. Their anorectal malformations were characterized as anal stenoses (4 patients), associated with Hirschsprung’s disease in 2 cases. In 3 patients, MRI showed tethered cord syndrome in addition to the presacral mass. There was hydrocephalus in 1 patient. Anal stenosis was treated by anal dilatation. In 2 patients, rectal biopsy and temporary colostomy (2 patients) had been performed previously due to Hirschsprung’s disease. We performed a posterior procedure via lumbar and sacral partial laminectomy-laminoplasty and transdural ligation of the neck of the meningocele for anterior sacral meningoceles, or alternatively, tumor excision for other types of presacral lesions. Histopathologically, 3 were cases of anterior sacral meningoceles and 1 was a teratoma. One of them also had a spinal abscess. He required reoperation (twice) and appeared at the time to have improved with medical therapy. All patients improved and stabilized. There were no additional neurological deficits and no recurrence of the presacral mass over the follow-up period (6 years, on average). The family pedigree did not reveal any familial transmission pattern. In cases of Currarino triad, MRI can allow the characterization of the presacral masses. If it is an anterior sacral meningocele or a solid tumor without severe anorectal malformation, it can be managed with posterior lumbar and sacral procedures. Such approaches are performed easily by transdural ligation of the neck of the anterior sacral meningocele or through tumor excision.
Quantitative descriptions of the occipital sinus are lacking in the extant medical literature. Posterior fossa duras with the superior sagittal sinus, the inferior and superior petrosal sinuses were dissected and taken out from fresh human cadavers by cutting at the superior sagittal sinus, the marginal sinuses and the petrosal sinuses bilaterally. The length of the occipital sinuses was measured using calipers. A 0.5-cm section of the occipital sinus was cut out at its midpoint and prepared for measurements of the perimeter and diameter using a stereology workstation. The sinuses were also examined qualitatively using a surgical microscope. There was no occipital sinus in 6.6% of total 30 cases. Multiple occipital sinuses were seen in 10%. In one specimen, the sinus seemed incomplete, failing to reach the marginal sinuses. Some specimens gave the impression that more than one occipital sinus was present, nevertheless, careful dissection showed connections. The breadth of the sinus steadily narrowed downward in direction of foramen magnum. The inner wall with many fibrous bridges was tight, except the lateral parts that were easily separated into two dural sheets. The length of the sinus varied from 10 to 37 mm. The inner diameter (feret maximum) varied from 0.33 to 7.06 mm at midpoint. The breadth of the multiple sinuses did not exceed the mean of our series except in one case. The occipital sinus, which is generally ellipsoid in shape, functions in the majority of cases as a thin, single midline sinus. It may have less resistant recesses laterally.
AIM:In traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, to overcome the secondary insults, cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) oriented therapy is recommended. The study is assigned to estimate CPP values with middle cerebral artery (MCA) flow velocities measured noninvasively using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD). MATeRIAL and MeTHods:Forty-seven TBI patients were studied. Intracranial pressure (ICP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and MCA flow velocities of the patients were monitored. Invasive CPP was calculated as the difference between MAP and ICP. The formula : 'MAP x FVd/FVm +14' was used to estimate CPP noninvasively. Correlation of the noninvasive and invasive values were analysed. ResULTs:The mean values of noninvasive CPP and invasive CPP were 66.10 ± 10.55 mmHg and 65.40 ± 10.03 mmHg respectively. The correlation between noninvasive and invasive CPP measurements was strongly significant (p < 0.001) with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.920. CoNCLUsIoN:With ICP monitoring systems, CPP is calculated and the therapy is guided according to these values. As it is recognized that brain perfusion can be assessed with TCD waveforms, noninvasive CPP estimation with MCA flow velocities may help to observe the trends in CPP values.
Nocardial brain abscesses remain a clinical challenge. We successfully treated a patient with nocardial brain abscess, mycetoma, pneumonia, and glomerulonephritis. Nocardial soft tissue involvement, mycetoma, is well known. However, the fact that actinomycetoma can metastasize may not be as well appreciated. The association between nocardiosis and glomerulonephritis should be better clarified. CASE REPORTA 49-year-old male, a businessman, was admitted to our hospital with complaints of severe edema of the lower extremities. Clinically, the diagnosis was nephrotic syndrome. Light microscopy of a renal biopsy showed fibrosis with mesangial hypercellularity and tubular atrophy. Immunofluorescence staining revealed deposition of immunoglobulin G and C 3 at the glomeruli, basal membranes, and mesangia. The diagnosis of a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis was established, and the patient received oral treatment with prednisolone at 60 mg/kg per day. Because of persistent proteinuria, he underwent monthly intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide therapy. When the patient was hospitalized for his third course of cyclophosphamide therapy 9 months later, he was febrile, and physical examination revealed a tender mass in the anterolateral region of the left thigh. Laboratory findings revealed the following: white blood cell count, 13,360/mm 3 (normal range, 4 ϫ 10 9 to 10 ϫ 10 9 /liter); hemoglobin, 10.4 g/dl (normal range, 11 to 16 g/dl); hematocrit, 32.1% (normal range, 37 to 50%); erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 63 mm/h (normal range, Ͻ25 mm/h); cyclic AMP receptor protein, 16.2 mg/dl (normal range, Ͻ0.8 mg/dl); urea, 35 mg/dl (normal range, 10 to 50 mg/dl); creatinine, 0.8 mg/dl (normal range, 0.7 to 1.2 mg/dl); aspartate aminotransferase, 68 U/liter (normal range, 14 to 36 U/liter); and alanine aminotransferase, 116/liter (normal range, 9 to 52 U/liter). There was 5 g/day of proteinuria. Magnetic resonance imaging of the left lower extremity showed a mass lesion within the vastus lateralis muscle (Fig. 1). The mass had cystic characteristics and was multiloculated. The microbiological diagnosis was made from the aspirated pus of the mass lesion in the left lower extremity. The specimens, cultured on sheep blood agar, brain-heart infusion agar, and Sabouraud dextrose agar plates, were incubated at 37°C in the presence of 10% CO 2 plus air. Direct microscopic examination of aspirated Gram-stained pus showed gram-positive cocci, gram-positive filamentous branching bacilli, and polymorphonuclear neutrophils. The smear was stained with modified acid fast. After a 24-h incubation, typical smooth, yellow-pigmented, hemolyzed colonies were tested with the catalase, oxidase, coagulase, and ID 32 Staph tests (bioMérieux, Nutingen, Germany) and oxacillin on Mueller-Hinton agar. Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus was identified. After 3 days of incubation, typical dry, chalky, dull, tough colonies appeared on the media. All species were gram-positive branching bacilli. These bacilli were identified as Nocardia species. ...
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