Biomedical subjects
Eric H Sincoff
Publications and source records attributed to Eric H Sincoff.
Anterior ethmoidal artery: microsurgical anatomy and technical considerations.
OBJECTIVE: Vascular lesions of the anterior cranial fossa can receive significant blood supply from the anterior ethmoidal artery. Embolization of this blood supply exposes the parent vessel, the ophthalmic artery, to possible embolic complications, which can lead to loss of vision. A study of the microsurgical anatomy can help delineate the course of the anterior ethmoidal artery and find the best points for proximal control of the blood supply to these lesions. Clinical cases are presented to illustrate how lesions with prominent anterior ethmoidal artery feeders are best approached through fronto-orbital single-flap craniotomies. METHODS: Eight cadaveric dissections to demonstrate the microsurgical anatomy of the anterior ethmoidal artery were performed to study the relevant anatomy. Two clinical cases are presented that demonstrate clinical application of this anatomy through fronto-orbital single-flap craniotomies. RESULTS: Eight arteries were studied in four cadaveric heads. The dissections show the course of the anterior ethmoidal artery from the ophthalmic artery in the orbit, through the anterior ethmoidal foramen into the ethmoid air cells, to the cribriform plate, where it turns superiorly to become the anterior falx artery. The first surgical case is of a giant tuberculum sellae meningioma that was resected with coagulation and division of the anterior ethmoidal arteries at the anterior ethmoidal foramina at the laminae papyraceae of both medial orbital walls. The second surgical case is of a large deep right frontal arteriovenous malformation that was resected with coagulation and division of the anterior ethmoidal artery at the anterior ethmoidal foramen of the lamina papyracea of the right medial orbital wall. CONCLUSION: The cadaveric dissections and our surgical experience show that the anterior ethmoidal artery has three important sites for surgical access: 1) the anterior ethmoidal foramen at the lamina papyracea of the medial orbital wall; 2) the anterior ethmoid canal at the lateral ethmoid wall; and 3) extradurally, at the cribriform plate. These three sites are best accessed through a fronto-orbital single-flap craniotomy, which can be unilateral or bilateral, depending on the pathological findings. The described orbital-cranial approach in this article is not being advocated to replace the standard pterional and frontal approaches; rather, we suggest it as an option in these complex cases that require early proximal control of the anterior ethmoidal artery feeders.
White matter fiber dissection of the optic radiations of the temporal lobe and implications for surgical approaches to the temporal horn.
OBJECT: The aim of this anatomical study was to define more fully the three-dimensional (3D) relationships between the optic radiations and the temporal horn and superficial anatomy of the temporal lobe by using the Klingler white matter fiber dissection technique. These findings were correlated with established surgical trajectories to the temporal horn. Such surgical trajectories have implications for amygdalohippocampectomy and other procedures that involve entering the temporal horn for the resection of tumors or vascular lesions. METHODS: Ten human cadaveric hemispheres were prepared with several cycles of freezing and thawing by using a modification of the method described by Klingler. Wooden spatulas were used to strip away the deeper layers of white matter progressively in a lateromedial direction, and various association, projection, and commissural fibers were demonstrated. As the dissection progressed, photographs of each progressive layer were obtained. Special attention was given to the optic radiation and to the sagittal stratum of which the optic radiation is a part. The trajectories of fibers in the optic radiation were specifically studied in relation to the lateral, medial, superior, and inferior walls of the temporal horn as well as to the superficial anatomy of the temporal lobe. In three of the hemispheres coronal sections were made so that the relationship between the optic radiation and the temporal horn could be studied more fully. In all 10 hemispheres that were dissected the following observations were made. 1) The optic radiation covered the entire lateral aspect of the temporal horn as it extends to the occipital horn. 2) The anterior tip of the temporal horn was covered by the anterior optic radiation along its lateral half. 3) The entire medial wall of the temporal horn was free from optic radiation fibers, except at the level at which these fibers arise from the lateral geniculate body to ascend over the roof of the temporal horn. 4) The superior wall of the temporal horn was covered by optic radiation fibers. 5) The entire inferior wall of the temporal horn was free from optic radiation fibers anterior to the level of the lateral geniculate body. CONCLUSIONS: Fiber dissections of the temporal lobe and horn demonstrated the complex 3D relationships between the optic radiations and the temporal horn and superficial anatomy of the temporal lobe. Based on the results of this study, the authors define two anatomical surgical trajectories to the temporal horn that would avoid the optic radiations. The first of these involves a transsylvian anterior medial approach and the second a pure inferior trajectory through a fusiform gyrus. Lateral approaches to the temporal horn through the superior and middle gyri, based on the authors' findings, would traverse the optic radiations.
Anomalous origin of the left A1 segment from the right internal carotid artery. Case illustration.
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