1/296. Multiple postoperative intracerebral haematomas remote from the site of craniotomy. A postoperative haemorrhage is a common and serious complication of a neurosurgical procedure. It usually occurs at the site of the surgery, but on occasion a postoperative haematoma is found at a distance from the previous craniotomy. Multiple postoperative haemorrhages are extremely rare. We report the case of a 63-year-old woman, operated on for the removal of a supratentorial astrocytoma, who developed in the early post-operative period multiple bilateral intracerebral haematomas without involvement of the surgical bed. ( info) |
2/296. Shunt control of bleeding after homograft replacement of the ascending aorta. Homograft replacement of the ascending aorta with replacement of the coronary arteries often is accompanied by significant postoperative bleeding from the suture lines that often requires a second exploratory operation. These events occur despite a meticulous operative technique and pharmacologic hemostatic agents. We used hemostatic material to cover the homograft as patch to create a watertight seal and placed a left-to-right shunt to control bleeding. ( info) |
3/296. Perioperative management of a patient with Werlhof disease undergoing myocardial revascularization. We herein report the case of a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (Werlhof disease) and coronary artery disease undergoing myocardial revascularization. The use of monomeric immunoglobulins, corticosteroids, platelets transfusion, use of a cell saver, normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass, aprotinine and homologous blood transfusion were combined in order to minimize the risk of bleeding complications in the postoperative period. ( info) |
4/296. tetracycline sclerotherapy for the treatment of recurrent pooling of plasma in the submandibular tissue space: case report. We present an unusual case of recurrent swelling after removal of the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands which was found to be the result of a collection of plasma. This was successfully treated by an injection of tetracycline to induce sclerosis. ( info) |
| There is no more difficult lesion to manage than congenital arteriovenous fistula. The advanced lesions are extremely vascular and unless they lend themselves to total excision, prompt recurrence is the rule. For the same reason, embolization is not successful and as the major feeding vessels are occluded, access to the tumor becomes more and more limited. In order to obliterate the tumor, it must be destroyed at the microvascular level. So far, only ethanol has proved effective in this regard, and this agent must be used conservatively to avoid excessive destruction of normal tissue and systemic damage. ( info) |
6/296. Cerebellar hemorrhage after supratentorial surgery for treatment of epilepsy: report of three cases. OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: We report three cases of cerebellar hemorrhage complicating supratentorial craniotomies for the treatment of epilepsy. In a literature review, we identified only four similar cases of cerebellar hemorrhage after temporal lobectomy for the treatment of epilepsy. CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND RESULTS: Three young and otherwise healthy patients underwent frontal, occipital, and temporal resections for the treatment of refractory epilepsy. The hemorrhage manifested as peduncular tremor, ataxia, and decerebrate posturing presenting early in the postoperative period. The diagnosis was established by computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging. Benign outcomes were observed for all patients. CONCLUSION: Based on the available data, it is our opinion that brain dislocation resulting from excessive intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid drainage is a possible mechanism for this rare complication of supratentorial craniotomy. The overdrainage seems to be less hazardous when the procedure is performed for the removal of space-occupying mass lesions. In contrast, the resection of nonexpanding tissues, such as in lobectomies for the treatment of epilepsy, may be an additional risk factor, because the incidence of this complication seems to be higher in these situations. ( info) |
7/296. Bleeding through the fiber interstices of a knitted dacron graft 12 years after its implantation: report of a case. We present herein the case of a 65-year-old man who suddenly developed fresh perigraft bleeding into the space between a knitted Dacron bifurcated graft and the aneurysmal sac, 12 years after undergoing graft replacement. Intraoperative findings did not show Dacron fiber degeneration at the nonanastomotic sites or a pseudoaneurysm at the anastomotic site. Widened Dacron fiber interstices resulting from graft dilation without sufficient graft healing was thought to have caused delayed hemorrhage through the macroscopically intact graft material, followed by massive clot retention between the graft and the aneurysmal sac. This case report serves to demonstrate that careful long-term follow-up is essential for patients who have undergone vascular graft replacement. ( info) |
8/296. Convulsions and respiratory arrest in association with desmopressin administration for the treatment of a bleeding tonsil in a child with borderline haemophilia. Desmopressin (DDAVP) may be used to augment the action of factor viii in mild haemophilia. Its use has been associated with serious adverse effects. We report a case of a three-year-old child with a family history of haemophilia who suffered complications due to severe acute hyponatraemia following the administration of this drug for post-tonsillectomy bleeding. ( info) |
9/296. Use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in follow-up after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair. PURPOSE: To investigate the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the detection of endoleak after endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm. MATERIALS AND methods: Eighteen patients underwent follow-up on 20 occasions after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair by arterial-phase contrast-enhanced spiral computed tomography (CT). All patients had unenhanced color Doppler ultrasound and Levovist-enhanced ultrasound on the same day. The ultrasound examinations were reported in a manner that was blind to the CT results. CT was regarded as the gold standard for the purposes of the study. RESULTS: There were three endoleaks shown by CT. Unenhanced ultrasound detected only one endoleak (sensitivity, 33%). Levovist-enhanced ultrasound detected all three endoleaks (sensitivity, 100%). Levovist-enhanced ultrasound indicated an additional six endoleaks that were not confirmed by CT (specificity, 67%; positive predictive value, 33%). In one of these six cases, the aneurysm increased in size, which indicates a likelihood of endoleak. Two of the remaining false-positive results occurred in patients known to have a distal implantation leak at completion angiography. CONCLUSION: In this small group of patients, contrast-enhanced ultrasound appears to be a reliable screening test for endoleak. The false-positive results with enhanced ultrasound may be due to the failure of CT to detect slow flow collateral pathways. Although the number of patients in this study is small, enhanced ultrasound may be more reliable than CT in detecting endoleak. ( info) |
10/296. Severe gastrointestinal bleeding resulting in total gastrectomy in a patient with major burns--a case report. gastrointestinal hemorrhage is a known but rare complication of major burns. This case report describes the management of this potentially life threatening problem in a young adult with 45% body surface area burns who developed massive gastrointestinal-tract bleeding. The patient required a total gastrectomy that was complicated by a burst abdomen. Despite undergoing a series of major insults. the patient survived and was eventually discharged from hospital with an acceptable level of morbidity. The problems faced by the burn centre team and the issues involved in the decision making process are discussed in the management of this unusually devastating complication. ( info) |