Intracranial epidermoid tumors are rare, potentially curable, benign lesions that are sometimes associated with perioperative complications, and tend to recur if not completely removed. Histologically benign epidermoid tumors may also develop into highly malignant tumors. This study evaluated on 28 cases of intracranial epidermoid tumor treated over a 13-year period by radical resection with microneurosurgical techniques. The majority of patients underwent computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging within the first 24 hours postoperatively to confirm the results of surgery. Radical surgical resection was achieved in 21 of the 28 cases, and there was no operative mortality. The most common postoperative complication was transient paresis of various cranial nerves. During a mean follow up of 6 years, only one tumor became malignant. Radical surgical resection should be the goal in treating these benign lesions, but if not possible, every effort should be made to minimize the amount of tumor tissue that remains.

Duraplasty with in situ galeal tissue is a simple, safe, and effective technique to reconstruct dural defects in growing skull fracture, which avoids the risky dissection of the brain tissue. Also, by using Medpor, growing skull fractures can be effectively reconstructed with good cosmetic results.

In our morphometric study of the spinal vertebrae, we found differences compared to a number of previous morphometric studies performed mainly on a white population. Also, we documented the individual morphometric differences of the same parameters in the same subgroups. These results emphasize the importance of preoperative computed tomography and conventional radiography of each patient in planning a surgical procedure and selecting the appropriate size of the instruments, thus avoiding possible postoperative complication related to implants.

Study Design: The e ect of epidural space perfusion with chilled saline solution (% 0.9 NaCl) on lipid peroxidation after experimental spinal cord injury in rats was evaluated. Objectives: The extent of lipid peroxidation is a useful parameter for evaluating the cellular disturbance caused by spinal cord trauma in experimental conditions. The protective e ects of hypothermia against neurological injury resulting from trauma or ischemia both in experimental and clinical situations have been demonstrated. Setting: Departments of Neurosurgery and Biochemistry, Cerrahpasa Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey. Methods: Twenty-®ve female Wistar Albino rats were used. There were ®ve rats in group I (sham-operated), seven rats in group II (trauma), and eight rats in group III (epidural cooling). The remaining ®ve rats were used for the pilot study to determine the spinal cord and body temperature. A clip compression method was used to produce acute spinal cord injury. In group III, 30 min after the trauma the injured spinal cord was cooled by perfusion of the epidural space with chilled saline solution (% 0.9 NaCl) with a¯ow rate of 5 ml/min for 30 min. At 2 h after trauma, all rats other than the ones used in the pilot study, were sacri®ced and the spinal cords were excised. The extent of lipid peroxidation in the spinal cord was assessed by measuring the tissue content of malonil dialdehyde (MDA). Results: The tissue MDA contents were 1.58 micromol MDA/gram wet weight (gww) in group 1 (sham-operated), 2.58 micromol MDA/gww in group 2 (trauma), and 1.77 micromol/ gww in group 3 (epidural cooling), the di erences being statistically signi®cant. Conclusion:The results indicated that epidural cooling of traumatized spinal cord is e ective in preventing secondary damage due to the peroxidation of lipid membranes.

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