Extradural archnoid spinal cysts are rare lesions. Their localization is usually the thoracic spine. Clinically, they are a cause of spinal cord and/ or nerve roots compression. The diagnosis is made by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The pathophysiology is not well known and seems to be different from intradural lesions. The best treatment is surgery. We report the case of a 5-year-old girl with spinal cord compression symptoms who was treated by open surgery. We performed dural defect repair. The outcome was good in the immediate post operative period without complication and total recovery.

Introduction: Africa has many untreated neurosurgical cases due to limited access to safe, affordable, and timely care. In this study, we surveyed young African neurosurgeons and trainees to identify challenges to training and practice.Methods: African trainees and residents were surveyed online by the Young Neurosurgeons Forum from April 25th to November 30th, 2018. The survey link was distributed via social media platforms and through professional society mailing lists. Univariate and bivariate data analyses were run and a P-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.Results: 112 respondents from 20 countries participated in this study. 98 (87.5%) were male, 63 (56.3%) were from sub-Saharan Africa, and 52 (46.4%) were residents. 39 (34.8%) had regular journal club sessions at their hospital, 100 (89.3%) did not have access to cadaver dissection labs, and 62 (55.4%) had never attended a WFNS-endorsed conference. 67.0% of respondents reported limited research opportunities and 58.9% reported limited education opportunities. Lack of mentorship (P = 0.023, Phi = 0.26), lack of access to journals (P = 0.002, Phi = 0.332), and limited access to conferences (P = 0.019, Phi = 0.369) were associated with the country income category.Conclusion: This survey identified barriers to education, research, and practice among African trainees and young neurosurgeons. The findings of this study should inform future initiatives aimed at reducing the barriers faced by this group.

The number of women in the medical field has increased in Africa over the last few decades, yet the underrepresentation of women within neurosurgery has been a recurrent theme. Of all surgical disciplines, neurosurgery is among the least equitable, and the rate of increase in female surgeons lags behind other surgical disciplines such as general surgery. This historical review provides an overview of the history of women in neurosurgery and their current status on the African continent. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first article to provide such an overview.

Women in Neurosurgery (WIN) have come a long way and are making inroads in every neurosurgical subspecialty. There has been a worldwide increase in the number of female neurosurgeons both in the training and practice. Although this is a welcome trend, gender equality at work in terms of opportunities, promotions, and pay scales are yet to be attained. This is more apparent in the developing and underdeveloped nations. Barriers for a female neurosurgeon exist in every phase before entering residency, during training, and at workplace. In the neurosurgical specialty, only a few women are in chief academic and leadership positions, and this situation needs to improve. WIN should be motivated to pursue fellowships, sub-specialty training, research, and academic activities. Furthermore, men should come forward to mentor women, only then the gender debates will disappear and true excellence in neurosurgery can be attained. This article reviews the issues that are relevant in the present era focusing on the barriers faced by female neurosurgeons in the developing and underdeveloped countries and the possible solutions to achieve gender equality in neurosurgery. The authors also present the data from the World WIN Directory collected as a part of Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons-WINS project 2019. These numbers are expected to grow as the WIN progress and add value to the neurosurgical community at large.

Pediatric neurosurgery is an ever-evolving field, and at the heart of it are talented and hardworking neurosurgeons who harness technology and research to enhance the standard of neurosurgical care for children. Recent studies have found that female neurosurgeons tend to choose a career focused on pediatric neurosurgery more than other subspecialties. However, the achievements and contributions of women in pediatric neurosurgery are not well known. To address this, an international working group of pediatric neurosurgeons was established from the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Women in Neurosurgery (WINS) group and Pediatric Neurosurgery Committee. The working group reviewed the current literature and collected information through personal communications with the global WINS network. Despite the increasing number of women entering neurosurgical training, the number of female pediatric neurosurgeons is still a mere handful worldwide. In this article, the authors summarize the current status of female pediatric neurosurgeons across the globe, highlighting their achievements as well as the gender bias and challenges that they face at every level of progression of their career. A better organized pediatric neurosurgery workforce, with more female representation and mentorship, would encourage future generations of diverse genders toward a career in this field.

We report a case of a 4-month-old girl presenting congenital proptosis with progressive increase. CT scan revealed an intraorbital mass without bony defect. The patient was operated, and resection was subtotal. Histologically, the tumor was composed of glial tissue with plexus choroid and pathologist concluded glial heterotopia. The child is under constant medical supervision because recurrences can be observed after incomplete resection; she had no new clinical signs at 18 months follow-up.

Background & Importance: Iniencephaly is a rare cranio-cervical deformity. It belongs to neural tube defects. This disorder is characterized by a retroflexion of head, a very short neck, varying degrees of incomplete posterior closure of vertebrae and cervical and thoracic spinal synostosis. This malformation is associated with central nervous system and systemic malformations. Most of patients are dead born and others die after few hours of life. There are only few long-term survivors reported in literature. Case Presentation: A seven-year-old girl with iniencephaly signs who has been managed conservatively and still alive after six years of follow-up. Conclusion: Iniencephaly is a rare complexe disorder with a dismal prognosis but not uniformly fatal.

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