Interventional neuroradiology.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Lylyk.
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OBJECT: With the recent development and refinement of endovascular stents, the significant potential for these devices in the treatment of wide-necked dissecting and fusiform aneurysms has become apparent. In this article the authors report on the use of stents and coils to treat dissecting and fusiform vertebral artery (VA) aneurysms. METHODS: Eight consecutive patients harboring eight dissecting aneurysms and one fusiform aneurysm of the VA were succesfully treated using a procedure in which the authors inserted an intravascular stent and secondary endosaccular coils when needed. In all but one patient complete aneurysm occlusion was achieved, and in all cases there was no neurological complication. Follow-up angiography examinations were performed in all patients (mean duration of follow-up angiography review 13.1 months, range 3-42 months). The patients remained stable throughout the clinical follow-up period (mean 14.1 months, range 4-42 months). No rebleeding was recorded. CONCLUSIONS: At present this combined approach represents a reliable and safe alternative for the treatment of VA dissecting aneurysms, especially in patients who cannot tolerate occlusion tests.
Partial clipping may occur in about 4% of surgical procedures. The risk of hemorrhage persists if the aneurysm is not completely excluded. Reoperations are often difficult, technically demanding and may carry an increased risk of complications. We report our experience with the use of Guglielmi detachable coils in the treatment of 9 aneurysm remnants. Five patients (55.6%) presented with a second subarachnoid hemorrhage. Eight of the aneurysms (88.9%) were located on the anterior circulation. Postoperative angiography showed complete occlusion in 8 cases (88.9%). Certain partial clipping types may assist and favor a stable coiling procedure allowing a more compact cast. On the other hand, the clip may interfere with the correct visualization of the neck. In this series, there was no neurological morbidity associated with the procedure. There were no hemorrhagic events during or after the embolization. Endovascular treatment of aneurysm remnants can be performed safely and may constitute a valuable option to microsurgery.
OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: A clinical case of a dissecting aneurysm of the intracranial vertebral artery successfully treated with a combination of stents and coils is presented. The importance of long-term follow-up and the development of suitable materials and devices are emphasized. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: This 48-year-old man with a history of progressive bilateral loss of vision caused by glaucoma developed sudden headache, nausea, and vomiting. At admission, he presented with psychomotor agitation and neck pain. A neurological examination showed bilateral IInd and VIth cranial nerve palsy and neck stiffness. Computed tomography demonstrated a diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage. Digital subtraction angiography showed a fusiform dilation of Segment IV of the left vertebral artery, with a double lumen sign. TECHNIQUE: A bifemoral intra-arterial approach was used. A FasTracker 18 (Target Therapeutics, Fremont, CA) microcatheter was advanced through the true arterial lumen and was then replaced by a self-expandable metallic wall stent. Because of reduced radiopacity, a balloon-expandable metallic stent was then placed as well. Next, with a FasTracker 10 advanced through the stent mesh, the aneurysm was embolized using Guglielmi detachable coils. CONCLUSION: We applied a new technique to treat a dissecting aneurysm of the intracranial portion of the vertebral artery with a combination of stents and coils. Further work is required on the tracking, flexibility, and thrombogenic properties of diverse materials and devices. This evolving technology may play a role in the near future as the alternative of choice in some cases of aneurysm treatment via the endovascular route.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has amply shown its usefulness for the evaluation of traumatic cranio-encephalic lesions, particularly those involving the posterior fossa, due to the absence of bone artifacts, the availability of multiplanar sections and the greater sensitivity as regards Computerized Tomography (C. T.). We present an MRI examination of an extra-axial hematoma of the clivus in a child with head trauma, not visible on C. T. scans.
From September, 1986, to March, 1990, the authors treated 28 children harboring a vein of Galen vascular malformation. Eleven (39.3%) of the patients were neonates, 13 (46.4%) were 1 to 2 years old, and four (14.3%) were more than 2 years old. Fifteen patients (53.6%) presented with severe congestive heart failure, six (21.4%) had seizures, four (14.3%) had hydrocephalus, and three (10.7%) presented with intraventricular hemorrhage. Based on the Yaşargil classification of malformations, 10 lesions (35.7%) were Type I, seven (25%) were Type II, eight (28.6%) were Type III, and three (10.7%) were Type IV. In 11 patients (39.3%), a combined transfemoral, transarterial, and transvenous embolization of the vein of Galen malformation was performed. A pure transtorcular approach was utilized in eight patients (28.6%), and postembolization surgical clipping of arterial feeders was performed in two cases with intractable congestive heart failure. Complete anatomical occlusion of the galenic malformation was achieved in 13 patients (46.4%). An immediate postembolization improvement in the patient's clinical status was obtained in 23 (82.1%) of 28 patients and a good long-term clinical outcome was seen in 17 patients (60.7%). Five deaths (17.9%) occurred in this series of 28 patients; three (10.7%) were related to a transtorcular embolization and two (7.1%) to the unchanged natural history of the disease.
In a multicenter study, 120 patients with intracranial aneurysms presenting a high surgical risk were treated using electrolytically detachable coils and electrothrombosis via an endovascular approach. The results of treatment in patients with posterior fossa aneurysms (42 patients with 43 aneurysms) are presented. The most frequent clinical presentation was subarachnoid hemorrhage (24 cases). The clinical follow-up periods ranged from 1 week to 18 months. Complete aneurysm occlusion was obtained in 13 of 16 aneurysms with a small neck and in four of 26 wide-necked aneurysms. A 70% to 98% thrombosis of the aneurysm was achieved in 22 of 26 aneurysms with a wide neck and in three of 16 small-necked aneurysms. One aneurysm could not be treated due to a technical complication. Two cases required postprocedural surgical clipping of a residual aneurysm. One patient (originally in Hunt and Hess Grade V) experienced procedural rupture of the aneurysm requiring an emergency parent artery occlusion. He eventually died 5 days later. Another patient (originally in Grade IV) had coil migration and posterior cerebral artery territory ischemia. A third patient developed a permanent neurological deficit (hemianopsia) after complete occlusion of a wide-necked basilar bifurcation aneurysm. One patient, harboring an inoperable giant basilar bifurcation aneurysm, died from aneurysm bleeding 18 months after partial occlusion. Overall morbidity and mortality rates related to treatment were 4.8% (two cases) and 2.4% (one case), respectively (2.6% and 0% if considering only patients in Hunt and Hess Grades I, II, and III). It is suggested that this technique is a viable alternative in the management of patients with posterior fossa aneurysms associated with high surgical risk. Longer angiographic and clinical follow-up study is necessary to determine the long-term efficacy of this recently developed endovascular occlusion technique. Close postoperative angiographic and clinical monitoring of patients with wide-necked subtotally occluded aneurysms is mandatory to check for potential aneurysmal recanalization, regrowth, and rupture.
Seven cases of vein of Galen aneurysms treated by percutaneous transvenous endovascular occlusion of the aneurysmal vein are presented. In one case, the approach was via the femoral vein, and in the other six cases, by the jugular vein. All of the malformations were multipedicular and, additionally, in six of the seven there was an intervening arterial-arterial network between the posterior thalamoperforating arteries and the wall of the venous aneurysm. This fistulous network was interpreted as purely arterial and not as an associated arteriovenous malformation. For this reason, the transvenous approach was considered justified, and was performed without risk of hemorrhage caused by retrograde venous hypertension. Measurement of intra-aneurysmal pressure during the course of treatment allowed better understanding of the hemodynamics of the lesions, guided the amount of occlusion to be accomplished during each treatment session, and thus may have prevented the phenomenon of normal perfusion pressure breakthrough. The percutaneous transvenous approach offers all the advantages of the transtorcular approach but avoids surgery. Because of our excellent angiographic and clinical results--five complete and two partial occlusions, with favorable outcomes and no major complications--we believe that this technique is better for the treatment of multipedicular vein of Galen aneurysms than transarterial embolization or surgery.
The authors describe their experience with 101 cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM's) treated by endovascular embolization followed by surgical removal. Fifty-three patients presented with intracranial hemorrhage and 35 had seizures. Based on the classification of Spetzler and Martin, two AVM's were Grade I, 13 were Grade II, 26 were Grade III, 43 were Grade IV, and 17 were Grade V. Fifty-six AVM's were in the right hemisphere, 28 were in the left hemisphere, 12 were in the corpus callosum, and five involved the cerebellum. In 50 cases, presurgical obliteration of 50% to 75% of the AVM nidus was achieved by embolization, and in 31 cases this percentage increased to between 75% and 90%. In 97 (96%) patients, complete surgical removal of the AVM was obtained. Morbidity resulting from preoperative endovascular embolization was classified as mild in 3.9% of the cases, moderate in 6.9%, and severe in 1.98%. The death rate related to embolization was 0.9%. The immediate postsurgical morbidity was classified as mild in 5.9% of the cases, moderate in 10.8%, and severe in 5.9%. The overall long-term morbidity was mild in 5.9% of the cases, moderate in 6.9%, and severe in 1.98%. Two patients (1.98%) died due to intractable intraoperative hemorrhage and two (1.98%) as a result of postsurgical pulmonary complications.
The internal carotid artery system in swine has a special anatomic configuration similar to a brain "arterial-arterial malformation." The internal carotid artery breaks up into a multitude of fine channels (rete mirabile) situated at the base of the skull on the side of the hypophysis. This anatomic arterial model was used to analyze acute and chronic angiographic and histological changes after occlusion of the rete mirabile with I) avitene, II) avitene, and 50% ethanol, III) avitene, 30% ethanol and Polyvinyl alcohol, IV) avitene 50% ethanol and Polyvinyl alcohol, V) IBCA and VI) silk. Histopathological changes observed in the rete mirabile six weeks following occlusion demonstrated that a mixture of avitene, 30% ethanol and Polyvinyl alcohol and IBCA produced the best anatomic results. Embolization with avitene, PVA and ethanol induced a more bland histological reaction than the one observed with IBCA. Preliminary clinical experience with this mixture is reassuring in those cases in which the AVM was surgically resected. The partially thrombosed AVM was easily depressed and compressed by the neurosurgeon allowing for satisfactory hemostasis in and around the nidus of the AVM.
We performed a selective Wada test on a bilingual patient. While a left middle cerebral artery (MCA) injection produced global aphasia for both (Spanish and English) languages, the patient could only speak Spanish (his mother tongue) 1 min after he started to speak English. No language disturbances were observed after a right MCA amytal injection. These findings suggest that all of a multilingual's languages are stored within the verbal-dominant perisylvian region, and while the second language may be organized within the central Sylvian core, the first language may be better represented in more distal perisylvian areas.
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Twenty-five cases (38%) of ischemic infarction occurred among 65 cases of tuberculous meningitis in patients less than 14 years of age. The male:female ratio was 1.3:1. The most frequent clinical findings were meningeal signs, fever, alteration of consciousness, cranial nerve involvement, seizures, and focal neurologic deficit. Twenty-three patients had anterior circulation infarcts, and two more had infarcts in the vertebrobasilar territories. Distribution of infarcts in the anterior circulation was shown by computed tomography in the territories of the following arteries: lenticulostriate, 10 cases unilateral and 6 bilateral; middle cerebral, 3 cases; internal carotid, 1 case; multiple areas, 3 cases. Of the 25 ischemic infarction cases, 23 (92%) had hydrocephalus, 19 (76%) basal exudates, and 2 (8%) tuberculomas. Outcome was poor since no patient with infarction recovered completely. Six died and bilateral subcortical infarcts led to a considerably higher mortality than unilateral ones, whether cortical or subcortical.
One hundred and twenty-eight lesions of the cavernous sinus were diagnosed and treated by endovascular embolization alone or combined with postembolization surgery. All patients presented with acute or subacute cavernous sinus syndrome. A complete angiographic evaluation included bilateral internal and external carotid and vertebral angiography. A total of 88 carotid-cavernous (c-c) fistulae (68 traumatic and 20 spontaneous) and 40 giant aneurysms were demonstrated. A complete anatomic cure or satisfactory clinical improvement was seen in 67 of 68 traumatic fistulae, in 14 of 20 spontaneous c-c fistulae and in 38 of 40 giant intracavernous aneurysms. An overall 15 per cent immediate and 2.7 per cent long-term morbidity with one death was observed. The technical and clinical complications involving endovascular therapy of each specific intracavernous vascular lesion are analyzed.
Reported are six cases of meningocerebral astrocytomas attached to dura, involving the superficial cortex, in infants under 1 year of age. They represent 1.25% of 483 intracranial tumors in infancy studied at the Children's Hospital in the last 12 years. Five were located in the frontal lobes, with variable extension to the parietal or the parietotemporal regions, and one was located in the parietal lobe. They were all composed of a solid portion and one or more cysts, and they measured approximately 6 to 12 cm in diameter. They had spindle cells, some more plump, arranged in areas in a storiform pattern. Tumors were very rich in reticulin fibers, mimicking a mesenchymal tumor. There was very slight pleomorphism. Bizarre giant cells were not observed and lipidization was not a prominent feature. Immunoperoxidase technique was performed in all of them and showed glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in most of the tumor cells. We believe their origin is from subpial astrocytes. They probably represent a separate entity whose diagnosis cannot be accurately established without immunohistochemical techniques.
Of 102 patients with bacterial meningitis admitted to the Children's Hospital of Buenos Aires, 25 were selected for computed tomographic (CT) scans on the basis of altered consciousness for more than 96 hours after admission, persistent or recurrent seizures after 72 hours of antibiotic therapy, development of focal neurologic signs, increased intracranial pressure or prolonged fever. Scan findings included hydrocephalus, cerebritis, vasculitis, subdural effusion, cerebral atrophy, abscess, and ependymitis. Serial CT scans demonstrated the progression or regression of some complications. The CT scan was very useful in indicating the need for neurosurgical procedures.
The incidence of phycomicosis has increased in the last decades. Its diagnosis is very difficult and usually not established ante morten. Early treatment is of crucial importance, because despite the antifungal drugs, the mortality rate remains around 80%. The present report describes a successfully treated diabetic patient with a rhino-orbital form of the disease and an unusual complication--a cerebral abscess--in whom the clinical diagnosis was supported by the CT findings.
A 3-year-old child with a spinal cord direct arteriovenous fistula successfully treated by endovascular occlusion is presented. Intradural direct arteriovenous fistulae are the most infrequent variety of spinal arteriovenous malformations, although they are not properly identified as such in many published series. Whereas the exact mechanism by which they produce symptoms remains an unresolved issue--steal through fistula or compression by giant venous varices--the evolution of our case, with amelioration after partial occlusion, favors the former. Surgical resection of the thrombosed venous varix was not necessary. Endovascular occlusion proved to be a safe and effective form of treatment in this case of spinal intradural direct arteriovenous fistula, no additional treatment being necessary thereafter.