[Topographic diagnosis of chordomas using magnetic resonance tomography (MRT)].
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In cases of syringomyelia MR is superior to CT and myelography in visualisation and delineation of the extent of the process. In diagnosing spinal tumours MR is a more sensitive method than CT and myelography. MR provides additional information on sagittal and frontal planes regarding the extent of the tumour. In diagnosis of disc prolapse MR seems to be as accurate as CT or myelography. We obtained additional information in diagnosis of degenerated disc tissue. Spinal stenosis is easily recognisable. CT was superior in differentiation of bony and disc protrusion. The results show that MR has opened up new possibilities in the diagnosis of spinal diseases and will result in a reorientation of the diagnostic approach.
Oblique transcorporeal drilling is a new surgical technique in which the transverse foramina with the vertebral artery and lateral aspects of the bodies of the cervical vertebrae are exposed; it allows to drill out obliquely from the antero-lateral to the opposite postero-lateral corner, half of one or several cervical vertebral bodies. The technique is shortly described and its indications are discussed. It can mainly be applied to release osteophytic compression and to remove anteriorly developed tumors. The advantages are to work in a wide field with all important structures kept medially and protected and to keep a sufficient portion of the vertebral bodies to preserve the spine stability. This technique has been used in 39 cases with spondylosis in 27 cases, tumor in 11 cases and kyphosis in 2 cases including one with neurofibroma. Results in term of decompression were excellent in all cases. Mortality was none and morbidity was limited to a transient Horner's syndrome in almost all cases and to a CSF leak in three cases. This technique is therefore alternative to the anterior transcorporeal approach. In our experience, the oblique transcorporeal drilling provides a wider and safer access to lesions located anterior to the spinal cord.
The value of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tomography in the skeleton is analysed in 27 patients who had been examined by a prototype NMR scanner (resistive magnet, 0.2 Tesla). Anatomical structures and detail can be seen using the spin-echo mode and brief sequences. There is marked contrast difference between normal and abnormal tissues. Pathological changes lead to marked alterations in relaxation times. Inflammatory conditions, tumours and aseptic bone necrosis are demonstrated with a high degree of sensitivity. Tomography in the three geometric planes, with any desired additional plane, shows the extent and localisation of bone abnormalities.
Beside demonstrating morphological changes, CT enables one to make quantitative measurements of the spinal canal (sagittal diameter, transverse diameter, area of the spinal canal, width of the lateral recess and symmetry of the articular joints). A reduction of the transverse diameter of the spinal canal or asymmetry of the articular joints is associated with an increased and earlier incidence of back pain. In addition, patients with asymmetrical vertebral joints showed more frequent and earlier development of disc prolapse.
The diagnosis of carcinoma of the prostate depends on well proven urological methods. Computer tomography provides valuable additional information, such as tumour spread beyond the prostate, to lymph nodes and to the skeleton. It is an important requirement for proper radiotherapy and can be used to control treatment. In 14% out of 62 patients is use resulted in a change in staging. These patients, who had originally been asigned to local radiotherapy, were treated by an extended field technique or hormone therapy as a result of the information provided by CT.
Acquired non-traumatic torticollis may be due to a variety of causes. Presumably it may arise from inflammatory diseases and tumours of the neck as well as the central nervous system. Three cases of acquired torticollis due to osteomyelitis, retropharyngeal carcinoma and subluxation of the spine are presented and the variety of possible underlying diseases is demonstrated. Persistent torticollis should provoke an aggressive search for a specific aetiology by all means, especially CT scans or even biopsy.
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When cytotoxic chemotherapy is indicated in metastatic breast cancer, usually a combination of an alkylating agent and an antimetabolite, with or without doxorubicin, is used. The combinations including doxorubicin appear to give the best response rate.
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High-resolution computed tomography (CT) has dramatically expanded the understanding of lumbar spine anatomy. The procedure provides accurate preoperative assessment of bony and soft tissue pathology; directly visualizes the pathologic processes affecting the spine; and furnishes direct evidence of nerve root involvement by bony stenosis, herniated disc, and postoperative perineural fibrosis. The bony spinal and intervertebral nerve root canals and soft tissues can be imaged, herniated and sequestered discs identified, and causes of postoperative pain syndrome differentiated. High-resolution CT defines nerve root entrapment more accurately than any other imaging method currently used in the study of lumbar spine disease. Because it can provide complete preoperative information regarding bone and soft tissue pathology, the procedure can reasonably be expected to significantly reduce the incidence of "failed back surgery syndrome."
Urinary retention due to obstruction is a common presenting symptom of carcinoma of the prostate. We report the first case in which non-obstructive urinary retention was the presenting symptom in a middle-aged patient with undiagnosed prostate cancer which had metastasized to the spine and caused cord compression.
Between January 1982 and June 1994, 32 children with primary extracranial neuroblastomas (n = 24) and ganglioneuroblastomas (n = 8) were admitted and treated at the UKMC. Twenty-two (68.7%) of these patients suffered with 29 neurological complications (up to 3 complications per case) during the course of their disease. Fourteen cases had nervous system metastases or invasion. Nonmetastatic complications, such as nervous system infections (n = 4) and new onset of seizures secondary to brain metastasis, hypertensive and metabolic encephalopathies (n = 3) were seen on 7 cases. Five cases had treatment related complications, one case first presented with opsoclonus-polymyoclonus syndrome. Eight of these 22 patients died, due to relapse or progression of the disease. The mean follow-up period of 14 surviving patients was 44.9 months (range, 12-110 months). Five of these 14 patients suffered with neurologic sequelae. The incidence of neurologic complications was 68.7%. Nervous system metastasis was the most common neurologic complication. Although 5 patients suffered with neurologic sequelae, outcome was not influenced by presence of neurologic complication.
Extradural schwannomas of the C1-root are extremely rare. As the tumor grows in size, it may compress surrounding neurovascular structures and cause symptoms. In the present case report, the left vertebral artery (VA) was severely compressed by the tumor, eliciting severe vertigo on turning the head to the right side and with neck extension. We report a 52-year-old man who presented with a history of intermittent episodes of severe vertigo on head movement that was caused by a C1-root schwannoma. The lesion was exposed through an extreme lateral transcondylar approach. At exposure the lesion was yellowish in color and was extradural in location lying between the markedly eroded C1-posterior arch and the compressed vertebral artery (V3) on the left side. The medial portion of the tumor was attached to the C1-nerve root. The tumor was excised enbloc with decompression of the VA. The patient's symptoms completely resolved immediately following surgery, with no recurrence of the symptoms at one year follow up. The vertebral artery may frequently be compressed by osteophytes in cervical spondylosis or due to other causes in the cervical spinal canal, but compression of the artery by C1 extradural schwannoma with vascular insufficiency is rare. Removel of the tumor and the resultant decompression of the artery can be facilitated by the extreme lateral approach as demonstrated by this case.
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A 59-year-old man who had undergone the removal of a lipoma of the thoracic spine presented with progressive weakness of the lower limbs when lumbar puncture followed drainage of a subcutaneous collection of cerebrospinal fluid. Computed tomography showed entrapped intraspinal air which compressed the spinal cord. This rare, but serious complication can occur in a patient with altered intrathecal pressure following spinal surgery.
We report a patient with multiple cranial nerve and lumbar spine nerve root melanotic schwannomas, a rare variant of schwannoma, with raised intracranial pressure. Possible pathophysiology of the raised intracranial pressure by decreased CSF resorption due to blocked spinal lymphatics and other mechanisms is discussed.