New instrument. Secure grip. Barycenter of the instrument is the surgeon's hands. Many different tips with different functions. Elimination of the bayonet-like shape. Handle bent in the horizontal plane to avoid interference with the surgeon's hands and to allow the distal, thin part of the instrument to be used safely and comfortably.

In patients with INPH showing short duration of symptoms, prevalence of gait disturbance, and slight mental impairment, ETV provides similar results to those of shunting. We suggest performing ETV in these patients and reserving shunting only for those who do not improve after ETV, despite the presence of cerebrospinal fluid flow through the ventriculostomy on MRI flow studies. The good results after ETV in our series indirectly confirm that the cerebrospinal fluid absorption is good or at least sufficient in selected patients with INPH.

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Hypertrophic anterior cervical osteophytes have been reported as a cause of dysphagia, with about 100 cases described in the literature; on the other hand, chronic or acute dyspnea due to edema of the laryngeal inlet or bilateral vocal cord adduction-fixation is rare. We report a 57-year-old patient with a 2-year history of dysphagia and episodic dyspnea, who suffered sudden, severe respiratory distress necessitating emergency tracheotomy. A voluminous anterior cervical osteophyte at the C5 level was diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) and barium swallow test and removed by an anterior approach to the cervical spine, with clinical remission. The incidence, pathogenetic mechanisms, radiological diagnosis, and surgical indications of anterior cervical osteophytes associated with dysphagia and dyspnea are discussed. We advise examining cervical spine patients with dysphagia and/or dyspnea by radiography and CT when other investigations are not conclusive for a digestive or respiratory pathology.

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Endoscopic surgery may play an important role in most patients with pineal region tumors. We report our experience with 5 patients treated by a burr hole endoscopic technique. The procedure included in all cases third ventriculostomy for the correction of hydrocephalus, CSF sample for cytology and tumor markers, and tumor biopsy for histological diagnosis. Endoscopic biopsies showed a pineocytoma in two cases, a germinoma in 2 and a low-grade astrocytoma in one. We agree that endoscopic surgery may allow us to select cases requiring a microsurgical approach (medium-sized or large non-germ-cell tumors) from cases to be treated only by irradiation and chemotherapy (germinomas and other non-germ-cell tumors). Then, in some patients with pineal region tumors the endoscopic procedure remains the only surgical treatment. When a direct microsurgical approach is indicated, it may be performed in a non-emergency situation and after correction of the hydrocephalus by endoscopic third ventriculostomy.

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SummaryBackgroundIsolated sphenoid sinus pathologies are relatively rare. In the majority of cases, symptoms do not arise in the early stages of the disease or are non-specific, therefore making diagnosis difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic process and the reasons for development of complications in patients with isolated sphenoid sinus pathology.Material/MethodsThe clinical data and observation charts of 32 patients were investigated to determine how long the main symptoms of sphenoid pathology had been present before the patients were referred for medical treatment, and the time that elapsed from the first ambulatory medical assessment to the initial diagnosis.ResultsComplaints and symptoms of sphenoid sinus pathology had been present for 10.2 months before the diagnosis was established. Although the duration of complaints in “ORL” (diagnosed by otorhinolaryngologist) and “non-ORL” (diagnosed by other specialists) group of patients was similar (10.8 and 9.5 months on average, respectively), unexpectedly, in the “non-ORL” group of patients, the time necessary for making the initial diagnosis was actually shorter than in the “ORL” group (1.8 vs 4.1 months). At the time of hospital admission, endoscopic examination revealed no abnormalities in 31.2% of patients. In 28.1% of patients the pathological process in the sphenoid sinus was diagnosed only after the onset of complications.ConclusionsThe occult character of the disease and the lack of severe and specific symptoms, rather than the delay in getting extensive diagnostic tests, are responsible for the delayed diagnosis and treatment.