Although comparatively rare and benign lesions, Rathke's cleft cysts are an important cause of hormonal and visual disturbances. Transsphenoidal surgery is safe and efficacious and leads to excellent improvement of function in the majority of cases. The surgical modification described seems safe and satisfactory and is extremely easy to perform.

Sixty-six patients had surgery for an intramedullary nerve sheath tumour under the care of one surgical team in a 16-year period. Surgery concentrated on radical intra- and extradural excision combined if necessary with vertebral column reconstruction. Ninety procedures were used in 35 males and 30 females with an age range 12-81 years. Forty-five per cent were located in the cervical, 26% in the thoracic and 29% in the lumbosacral region. Eighteen patients had NF1 and two patients NF2. Sixty-five per cent were schwannomas, 27% were mixed histology and 6% malignant. In terms of functional outcome, 37 patients improved by one or more Frankel grades, three deteriorated by one Frankel grade and no one who presented with symptoms alone deteriorated. There were no operative deaths; no instrumentation failures and five patients developed a CSF leak.

The results of surgical management in 54 patients with intramedullary spinal cord tumours are presented. Cervical tumours were most frequent (25/54) followed by thoracic (16/54) and then lumbar (14/54). Ependymomas and astrocytomas were the most common tumour types. Total tumour removal was possible in just over half of the cases. Surgical complications included: two deaths, six patients with CSF leaks and one with wound infection. Postoperatively three patients had worsening of their motor deficit (unable to walk) and three patients had worsening of urinary sphincter function. Conversely, three patients who were unable to walk preoperatively were able to walk postoperatively, whilst four patients with sphincter disturbance showed improvement. Total tumour removal was not associated with increased risk of postoperative neurological deficit. Long-term follow up (2-18 years) was possible in 40 patients; 90% were still independently mobile. Our results compare favourably with other European studies and data from the North American units which have pioneered this surgery.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of evidence of whether degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is best treated through cervical laminoplasty (CLP) or cervical laminectomy with lateral mass fusion due to the lack of prospective randomized studies that are well designed. We conducted the largest prospective randomized trial to date to determine the comparative effectiveness and safety of both approaches. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized trial, we randomly assigned patients who had symptoms or signs of DCM to undergo either cervical laminectomy and lateral mass fixation (CLF) or CLP. The primary outcome measures were the change in the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), neck disability index, modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) score, and Nurick’s myelopathy grading 1 year after surgery. The secondary outcome measures were the intraoperative, post-operative complications, hospital stay, C2-7 Cobb’s angle, and Odom’s criteria. The follow-up period was at least 1 year. RESULTS: A total of 30 patients (mean age, 54.5 ± 5.5 years, 70% of men) underwent prospective randomization. There was a significantly greater improvement in neck pain (VAS) in the CLF group at 1 year (p < 0.05). The improvement in the mJOA and Nurick’s myelopathy grading showed insignificant improvement between both groups. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the patient’s post-operative satisfaction (Odom’s criteria). The mean operative time was significantly longer in the CLF group (p < 0.001), with no significant difference in the post-operative complications, however, there was a higher rate of C5 palsy, dural tear and infection in the CLF, and a higher rate of instrumentation failure in the CLP. The mean hospital stay was significantly longer in the posterior group (p < 0.05). Finally, there was a significant better improvement in the C2-7 Cobb’s angle at 1 year in the CLF group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Among patients with multilevel DCM, the CLF approach was significantly better regarding the post-operative pain and Cobb’s angle while the CLP was significantly better in terms of shorter hospital stay and operative time.

Background: Minimally invasive endoscopic hematoma evacuation is a promising treatment option for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, the technique still needs improvement. Methods: We report our early clinical experience of using this technique to evacuate supratentorial spontaneous intracerebral hematomas and evaluate its short-term outcomes. Results: The study included 15 patients, basal ganglia hematoma was the most common location 62.5%, mean preoperative hematoma volume was 61.07 cc, mean ICH score was 3, and mean rate of hematoma evacuation was 89.27%. Factors that could be related to mortality were Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) on admission (P = 0.001), ICH score (P = 0.004); postoperative GCS (P < 0.001), postoperative hematoma volume (P = 0.006); intraventricular extension (P = 0.001), and rate of evacuation (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Endoscopic technique is a safe surgical option for evacuation of spontaneous supratentorial ICH. This minimally invasive technique could be helpful to provide better short-term outcomes for selected patients. However, in our experience, this minimally invasive technique did not change the outcome for cases presented with poor GCS on admission 4/15. Our results warrant a future prospective, randomized, controlled efficacy trial.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the transcranial and the endoscopic transsphenoidal approaches for patients with recurrent giant pituitary adenomas as regards the extent of tumor resection and the clinical outcome. METHODS: The study included 21 patients with recurrent giant pituitary adenomas divided into two groups; Group A included nine patients operated on by transcranial approaches and Group B included 12 patients operated on by the endoscopic transsphenoidal approach. Both groups were compared as regards the extent of tumor resection and the post-operative clinical outcome, particularly the visual and endocrinological outcomes, in addition to morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: There was a higher incidence of total and near-total resection in Group B (41.7%) and a higher incidence of subtotal resection in Group A (55.6%). The incidence of visual improvement was higher in Group B (55.6%) than in Group A (28.6%). Post-operative biochemical remission was achieved in 100% of Group B patients and in 50% of Group A patients with functioning adenomas. The incidence of post-operative complications was higher in Group A (77.8%) than in Group B (50%). CONCLUSION: The endoscopic transsphenoidal approach for recurrent giant pituitary adenomas is associated with a higher extent of tumor resection, better rates of visual improvement and endocrinological remission, and lower incidence of complications. The transcranial approach should be reserved for some adenomas with marked lateral or anterior extensions, fibrous tumors, and after the failure of the endoscopic transsphenoidal approach.

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