• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.178-180
• /
• 2014

Despite significant advances in the treatment of all forms of chronic otitis media (COM), complications still can and do occur, with intracranial complications representing the most life-threatening cases, often requiring immediate therapeutic intervention. Herein, we present a rare case of rapidly progressing facial paralysis with concomitant severe headache and ipsilateral hearing loss secondary to an otogenic brain abscess, treated with the transmastoid approach, drainage, and facial nerve decompression.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.159-164
• /
• 1994

Purpose : To evaluate the role of postoperative radiotherapy in the management of primary or recurrent intracranial meningiomas. Methods and Materials : A retrospective review of 34 intracranial meningioma patients referred to the Yonsei Cancer Center for postoperative radiotherapy between 1981 and 1990 was undertaken. Of the 34 patients, 24 patients received elective postoperative radiotherapy after total or subtotal resection(Group 1), and 10 patients received postoperative radiotherapy as a salvage treatment for recurrent tumors(Group 2). Ten patients received postoperative radiotherapy after total resection, and twenty-four after subtotal resection. Ten patients who had total tumor resection were referred for radiotherapy either because of angioblastic or malignant histologic type(4 patients in Group 1) or because of recurrent disease after initial surgery(6 patients in Group 2). Radiation dose of 50-56 Gy was delivered over a period of 5-5.5 weeks using 4MV LINAC or Co-60 teletherapy unit. Results : Overall actuarial progression free survival(PFS) at 5 years was $80\%$. Survival was most likely affected by histologic subtypes. Five year PFS rate was $52\%$ for benign angioblastic histology as compared with $100\%$ for classic benign histology. For malignant meningiomas, 5 year PFS rate was $44\%$. The recurrence rates of classic, angioblastic, and malignant type were $5\%(1/21),\;80\%(4/5)$, and $50\%(4/8)$, respectively. The duration between salvage post-operative radiotherapy and recurrence was longer than the duration between initial surgery and recurrence in the patients of group 2 with angioblastic or malignant histology. Conclusion . Postoperative radiotherapy of primary or recurrent intracranial meningiomas appears to be effective modality, especially in the patients with classic meningiomas. In angioblastic or malignant histologies, a more effective approach seems to be needed for decreasing recurrence rate.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.105-109
• /
• 2001

Lymphangioma is a rare benign developmental vascular tumor that may be found in orbit, skull and elsewhere in head and neck. Few cases of extension of this benign but insidious tumor posteriorly out of the bony orbital cavity have been reported. The patient was 40-year-old man complaining of proptosis of right eye for one month. Physical examination revealed severe right exophthalmus, impairment of eyeball movement in all directions. Visual acuity was much impaired and he could percept only light with right eye. CT and MRI scans showed intraconal and extraconal involvement of ill-defined, heterogenous mass with extension of the tumor posteriorly beyond the orbital cavity involving right frontal and temporal lobe, skull and subcutaneous tissue. The tumor was subtotally removed via orbito-frontal approach without damaging vital neural and orbital component. Then, orbital roof reconstruction and cranioplasty were done with resin. Successful surgical removal of lymphangioma is very difficult due to its severe infiltration to surrounding tissue and tendency to bleed during debulking. We report a rare case of orbital cavernous lymphangioma with intracranial extension treated with surgical decompression, with review of literatures.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.30 no.sup1
• /
• pp.140-143
• /
• 2001

We report a case of huge trigeminal schwannoma in a 10-year-old boy with neurofibromatosis type II, extending into the three spaces of the left middle, posterior, and infratemporal fossa. Initially we thought the child had a solitary trigeminal schwannoma, and most of the mass was resected successfully through one-stage operation, cranio-orbito-zygomatic intradural approach. However during the follow-up of the patient we found radiographically other multiple intracranial tumors of bilateral acoustic schwannomas, right trigeminal schwannoma, and foramen magnum tumor. Eventually the patient was diagnosed as neurofibromatosis type II presenting multiple intracranial tumors. We think childhood trigeminal schwannoma, even though in the case of solitary tumor, should be considered as possible initial manifestation of neurofibromatosis type II and that careful follow-up for the possibility of occurrence of other brain tumors such as schwannomas or meningiomas is necessary.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.59 no.1
• /
• pp.17-25
• /
• 2016

Objective : Treatment of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs) remains a challenge. However, after introduction of Onyx, transarterial approach is the preferred treatment option in many centers. We report our experience of dAVFs embolization with special emphasis on transarterial approach. Methods : Seventeen embolization procedures were performed in 13 patients with dAVFs between Jan 2009 and Oct 2014. Clinical symptoms, location and type of fistulas, embolization methods, complications, radiological and clinical outcomes were evaluated using charts and PACS images. Results : All 13 patients had symptomatic lesions. The locations of fistulas were transverse-sigmoid sinus in 6, middle fossa dura in 4, cavernous sinus in 2, and superior sagittal sinus in 1 patient. Cognard types were as follows : I in 4, IIa in 2, IIa+IIb in 5, and IV in 2. Embolization procedures were performed ${\geq}2$ times in 3 patients. Nine patients were treated with transarterial Onyx embolization alone. One of these required direct surgical puncture of middle meningeal artery. Complete obliteration of fistulas was achieved in 11/13 (85%) patients. There were no complications except for 1 case of Onyx migration in cavernous dAVF. Modified Rankin scale score at post-operative 3 months were 0 in 11, and 3 in 2 patients. Conclusion : Transarterial Onyx embolization can be a first line therapeutic option in patients with dAVFs. However, transvenous approach should be tried first in cavernous sinus dAVF because of the risk of intracranial migration of liquid embolic materials. Furthermore, combined surgical endovascular approach can be considered as a useful option in inaccessible route.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.6-10
• /
• 2006

Objective : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the surgical outcomes of bifrontal interhemispheric[BIH] approach and compare them to those of the pterional approach for the treatment of craniopharyngioma. Methods : Seventeen patients had their first operation for the resection of craniopharyngiomas between 2000 and 2004 at our medical center. Eleven patients who had the pterional approach and 6 with the BIH approach were enrolled. The age range at the time of surgery was 5 to 80 years [mean age 35.6 years old]. The presenting symptoms were visual disturbance increased intracranial pressure in 5 patients. Results : The tumors were totally removed in 3 [27 %] and subtotally in 8 [73 %] patients with the pterional approach. Total tumor removal was achieved in 5 out of 6 [83%] patients by the BIH approach, except improved in 4 [36 %] patients treated with the pterional approach and in all patients treated by the BIH approach. Conclusion : The BIH approach for craniopharyngioma surgery may be an effective and safe approach for tumors that extend outside of the sellar-suprasellar region with acceptable outcomes.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.52 no.3
• /
• pp.179-186
• /
• 2012

Objective : Even in the patients with neurologically good outcome after intracranial aneurysm surgery, their perception of health is an important outcome issue. This study aimed to investigate the quality of life (QOL) and its predictors of patients who had a good outcome following anterior circulation aneurysm surgery as using the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument-Korean version. Methods : We treated 280 patients with 290 intracranial aneurysms for 2 years. This questionnaire was taken and validated by 99 patients whose Glasgow Outcome Scale score was 4 and more and Global deterioration scale 3 and less at 6 months after the operation, and 85 normal persons. Each domain and facet was compared between the two groups, and a subgroup analysis was performed on the QOL values and hospital expenses of the aneurysm patients according to the type of craniotomy, approach, bleeding of the aneurysm and brain injury. Results : Aneurysm patients showed a lower quality of life compared with control patients in level of independence, psychological, environmental, and spiritual domains. In the environmental domain, there were significant intergroup differences according to the type of craniotomy and the surgical approach used on the patients (p<0.05). The hospital charges were also significantly different according to the type of craniotomy (p<0.05). Conclusion : Despite good neurological status, patients surgically treated for anterior circulation aneurysm have a low quality of life. The craniotomy size may affect the QOL of patients who underwent an anterior circulation aneurysm surgery and exhibited a good outcome.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.60 no.2
• /
• pp.250-256
• /
• 2017

Objective : Cases of a ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with a high risk of intraoperative premature rupture and technical difficulties for proximal vascular control require a technique for the early and safe establishment of proximal vascular control. Methods : A combined pterional or subfrontal approach exposes the bilateral A1 segments or the origin of the ipsilateral A2 segment of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) for proximal vascular control. Proximal control far from the ruptured aneurysm facilitates tentative clipping of the rupture point of the aneurysm without a catastrophic premature rupture. The proximal control is then switched to the pericallosal artery just proximal to the aneurysm and its intermittent clipping facilitates complete aneurysm dissection and neck clipping. Results : Three such cases are reported : a ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with a contained leak of the contrast from the proximal side of the aneurysm, a low-lying ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with irregularities on its proximal wall, and a multilobulated ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with the parasagittal bridging veins hindering surgical access to the proximal parent artery. In each case, the proposed combined pterional-interhemispheric or subfrontal-interhemispheric approach was successfully performed to establish proximal vascular control far from the ruptured aneurysm and facilitated aneurysm clipping via the interhemispheric approach. Conclusion : When using an anterior interhemispheric approach for a ruptured pericallosal artery aneurysm with a high risk of premature rupture, a pterional or subfrontal approach can be combined to establish early proximal vascular control at the bilateral A1 segments or the origin of the A2 segment.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.285-288
• /
• 2006

A 63-year-old female complained of left frontal headache and swelling for several months. Physical examination revealed left supraorbital soft, nontender, nonpulsatile mass without bruit. The left eye was displaced downward with respect to the normal right globe. Based on the clinical and radiological findings, the patient was diagnosed as a mucocele arising from the left frontal sinus. The patient underwent a transcranial approach through coronal incision. In this patient, large portions of the anterior and posterior frontal sinus walls were destroyed in association with epidural spread, so we performed cranialization of the frontal sinus and removed the mucosal wall with the aid of a microscope. With a brief review we present a patient with mucocele of the frontal sinus extending into the intracranial and intraorbital region, which was successfully treated by a transcranial approach.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.67 no.3
• /
• pp.326-332
• /
• 2024

Intracranial vascular malformations typically encountered by pediatric neurosurgeons include arteriovenous malformations, vein of Galen malformations and cavernous malformations. While these remain amongst some of the most challenging lesions faced by patients and caregivers, the past decade has produced marked advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of these conditions, with concomitant innovations in treatment. This article will highlight present and future perspectives relevant to these diseases, with a focus on an emerging approach utilizing disease-specific mutations to develop a novel taxonomy for these conditions.