Neurosurgery
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Among 140 cases of chronic extracerebral fluid collections treated surgically, 7 cases (5%) of intracerebral hematoma occurring immediately after drainage were encountered. In none of the patients was a preoperative intracerebral clot or contusion identified by either computed tomographic scan or angiography. One patient had pre-existing systemic hypertension. ⋯ The factors that all of the patients had in common were preoperative increased intracranial pressure and shift of the midline structures, as well as rapid surgical decompression of the initial lesion. Possible pathogenic mechanisms include hemorrhage into previously undetected areas of contusion, a sudden increase in cerebral blood flow combined with faulty autoregulation, and damage to parenchymal vessels secondary to rapid intra- or postoperative shift of the intracranial contents. Perhaps this devastating complication can be avoided if closed system drainage is used for the treatment of chronic surface collections.
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Historical Article
Birth of a journal: the origin and early years of Neurosurgery.
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Hemorrhage from brain tumor was confirmed clinically, surgically, or on autopsy in 94 of 1861 cases (5.1%) treated during the past 18 years: 49 of 311 pituitary adenomas (15.8%) and 45 of 1550 other brain tumors (2.9%). The higher incidence of hemorrhage from pituitary adenoma was statistically significant (p less than 0.001). In brain tumors other than pituitary adenoma, the incidence of hemorrhage was significantly higher in the patients under 14 years old (17 of the 322 cases, 5.3%) than in the patients over 15 years old (28 of the 1228 cases; 2.3%) (p less than 0.001). ⋯ The following precipitating factors were found in 7 of the 17 patients aged under 14: ventricular drainage in 2, ventriculoperitoneal shunt in 2, carotid angiography in 1, head injury in 1, and leukemia in 1. Seven of the 17 patients under 14 years old died of massive bleeding from the tumor. Unless there is evidence of vascular disease such as cerebral aneurysm, vascular malformation, or hypertensive cerebrovascular disease, intracranial hemorrhage should be suspected of being due to a brain tumor.