Pediatric neurosurgery
-
Pediatric neurosurgery · Jan 2006
Review Case ReportsFatal haemorrhage in medulloblastoma following ventricular drainage. Case report and review of the literature.
Haemorrhage in medulloblastoma is reported to be very rare. The authors report a case of a 13-year-old boy who presented with headache, unsteadiness, diplopia and papilloedema due to posterior fossa medulloblastoma causing obstructive hydrocephalus. ⋯ The cause was marked upward herniation of the anterior vermis and downward herniation of the cerebellar tonsils due to massive spontaneous intratumoural haemorrhage extended into the ventricular system. This atypical clinical course of fatal haemorrhage in medulloblastoma after insertion of external ventricular drainage is reported and the literature discussed.
-
Terminal myelocystocele is a rare form of occult spinal dysraphism in which the hydromyelic caudal spinal cord and the subarachnoid space are herniated through a posterior spina bifida. A 1-year-old female child presented with a large lumbosacral mass (30 x 20 x 10 cm), flaccid paraplegia and urinary incontinence since birth. ⋯ In our experience, this was a giant terminal lipomyelocystocele and such a large lesion has not been reported in the literature before. Terminal myelocystocele should be included in the differential diagnosis of congenital lesions presenting as a lumbosacral mass and operated early.
-
Pediatric neurosurgery · Jan 2006
Risk of ventriculoperitoneal shunt infections due to gastrostomy feeding tube insertion in pediatric patients with brain tumors.
To determine the risk of ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt infections after percutaneous retrograde gastrostomy feeding tube (GT) placement in children with brain tumors. ⋯ Placement of percutaneous retrograde GTs, in the acute phase, in children with brain tumors and VP shunts may increase the risk of ascending meningitis especially if there are early GT-related complications.
-
Pediatric neurosurgery · Jan 2006
Central nervous system tumors in patients under three years of age: treatment results of a single institute.
Eighty-six patients under 3 years of age with central nervous system tumors were retrospectively analyzed between 1972 and 2003. Surgical resection was done in all patients except for those with optic glioma, pons glioma and pineal tumor. Three different chemotherapy regimens were used in different time periods. ⋯ OS rates were 33.7, 41.3 and 88.8% for the medulloblastoma+primitive neuroectodermal tumor groups, ependymoma and astrocytoma, respectively (p=0.0001). Most of the patients had primitive embryonic tumors (37.2%). The best prognostic factors were tumor localization and histology.