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Biomedical subjects

G Kosmorsky

Publications and source records attributed to G Kosmorsky.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Surgical management of clinoidal meningiomas.

OBJECTIVE: Surgical outcome has been less than desirable in the management of patients with clinoidal meningiomas in the past, and little attention has been directed at improving their visual function. The purpose of this article is to advocate an available cranial base technique for removing these difficult tumors and to delineate the technique's advantages that aid in achieving an improved extent of tumor resection and enhancing the patients' overall outcome, particularly their visual outcome. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 15 consecutive patients with clinoidal meningiomas (including a patient with hemangiopericytoma) who underwent surgical resection at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation between June 1995 and January 2000. A cranial base technique consisting of extradural anterior clinoidectomy, coupled with optic canal unroofing and optic sheath opening, was used in 13 patients, and standard pterional craniotomy was used in 2. Eight of 15 patients had significant visual deficits preoperatively. All patients had thorough preoperative and postoperative ophthalmological evaluations. The follow-up period ranged from 6 to 60 months (mean, 37.2 mo). RESULTS: Total resection was achieved in 13 (86.7%) of the 15 patients in this series, and the majority of the patients with preoperative visual impairment experienced significant improvement (6 of 8 patients; 75%). CONCLUSION: In the majority of patients with clinoidal meningiomas, total resection may be achieved with minimal complications. For large tumors encasing the optic nerve and internal carotid artery, or for those tumors causing preoperative visual impairment, use of the cranial base technique delineated in this study may lead to significant improvement in the patients' visual and overall outcomes.

Adolescent↗

Pseudotumor cerebri.

Pseudotumor cerebri is a disorder affecting mainly young, obese women. There is no known cause or single pathophysiologic mechanism to explain the disorder. The diagnosis is based on the triad of: (1) papilledema, (2) elevated intracranial pressure with a normal cerebrospinal fluid constituency, and (3) normal central nervous system imaging studies. Treatment involves various maneuvers to lower the intracranial pressure, including medicine and surgery.

Brain↗

Orbital compartment syndrome caused by intraorbital bacitracin ointment after endoscopic sinus surgery.

PURPOSE: To present an unusual case of orbital compartment syndrome after endoscopic sinus surgery. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: Acute proptosis, chemosis, decreased vision, and ophthalmoplegia were found immediately after endoscopic sinus surgery. Ophthalmologic evaluation showed a tense orbit, and intraocular pressure increased to 54 mm Hg. Treatment was initiated and the intraocular pressure dropped. Computed tomography (CT) revealed the presence of bacitracin ointment in the orbit. CONCLUSION: Ophthalmic complications after sinus surgery are well identified. Postoperative orbital compartment syndrome may be caused by retrobulbar hemorrhage, edema, air (emphysema), or foreign material. In this case, the findings were caused by inadvertent injection of bacitracin ointment into the orbit.

Aged↗

Posterior scleral choristoma in the organoid nevus syndrome (linear nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn).

PURPOSE: To highlight the association of posterior osseous and/or cartilaginous ocular choristomas with epibulbar choristomas and the nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn. DESIGN: Small case series. PARTICIPANTS: Four patients with the organoid nevus syndrome. METHODS: Clinical and histopathologic studies in four patients with epibulbar lesions and nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ophthalmoscopic findings of peripapillary lesions. Computed tomographic and ultrasonographic characteristic of posterior scleral lesions. Ocular histopathologic findings in one globe from one of the study subjects. RESULTS: Three patients had the triad of posterior osseous/cartilaginous ocular choristomas, anterior epibulbar choristomas, and nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn and one patient had anterior epibulbar choristomas and posterior osseous/cartilaginous ocular choristomas. Ultrasonography and computed tomography were valuable in detecting scleral ossification or epibulbar cartilage or both. The ophthalmoscopic findings were similar to those of a choroidal osteoma. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of posterior osseous/cartilaginous ocular choristomas in a patient with epilepsy or epibulbar lesions or both suggests the diagnosis of nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn. Osseous/cartilaginous ocular choristomas should be suspected in patients with nevus sebaceus of Jadassohn and peripapillary hypopigmented fundus lesions.

Cartilage↗

The role of transcranial Doppler in nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy.

PURPOSE: To investigate through the use of cerebral Doppler technology whether emboli are a more common cause of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) than previously recognized. METHODS: Eleven patients with a recent (<121 days) history of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and 10 age-matched controls (event > 121 days) were examined using a Nicolet Pioneer 2020 transcranial Doppler (TCD) unit with a 2-MHz bilateral continuous monitoring capability. The right and left middle cerebral arteries were evaluated simultaneously for 30 minutes at a depth of 50 to 55 mm, and the number of emboli, blood flow velocities, and pulsatility indices were recorded. Data were stored by computer, and hard-copy color recordings were made. RESULTS: None of 11 patients with a recent history of NAION demonstrated microemboli by TCD examination. One patient in the control group who had a remote history of NAION had a microembolic event rate of 12 per hour (six over 30 minutes). This patient had a history of prosthetic cardiac valve replacement and was taking anticoagulation medication at the time of the examination. CONCLUSIONS: Our study did not reveal an increased incidence of embolic events in patients with NAION when they were examined in a transcranial Doppler study of the middle cerebral arteries. This study does not support embolism as a frequent cause of NAION.

Arteritis↗

When fighting makes you see black holes instead of stars.

A young boxer developed a left homonymous hemianopia immediately after a blow to the head. A magnetic resonance image showed a lesion in the right lateral geniculata region that was consistent with a previous cerebral hemorrhage and was likely the cause of the visual field defect.

Adult↗

Neuro-ophthalmic features of cerebral venous obstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the neuro-ophthalmologic manifestations of impaired cranial venous outflow. DESIGN: A retrospective study of 20 patients who developed increased intracranial pressure as the result of impaired cerebral drainage. SETTING: Three neuro-ophthalmologic referral centers. PATIENTS: Ten patients had noncompressive thrombosis of sagittal or lateral sinuses (noncompressive group), four had compression of the sagittal sinus or jugular veins (compressive group), and six had transient sinus thrombosis following surgical procedures (iatrogenic group). INTERVENTIONS: Medical and/or surgical treatment of increased intracranial pressure and of underlying conditions predisposing to venous obstruction. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptoms (headache and esodeviation) and signs (visual acuity, visual fields, and optic disc appearance) of increased intracranial pressure. RESULTS: Headache was more severe, esodeviation was more prevalent, and onset was more abrupt in the noncompressive group than in the compressive and iatrogenic groups. Among the 10 patients with noncompressive thrombosis, factors predisposing to thrombosis were present in seven patients but sometimes overlooked. Following treatment, visual outcome was generally favorable in all three groups. All patients had 20/30 or better visual acuity in at least one eye, and substantial visual field loss was present in both eyes of only two patients. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical manifestation of impaired cerebral venous outflow vary depending on the underlying mechanism. Although most patients maintain good vision, more aggressive treatment is sometimes indicated in patients with thrombosis or compression. The abrupt onset and marked severity of symptoms in patients with thrombosis should help to differentiate these patients from those with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Adult↗

Psuedoaneurysm within the cavernous sinus presenting as cluster headache.

Cluster headache and its associated signs and symptoms have been described in medical literature for years. The etiology of this condition remains unresolved. We describe a unique patient who presented with a cluster headache syndrome concurrent with new-onset pseudoaneurysm within the cavernous sinus. Our review and analysis of this patient confirms current theories which describe the role of the cavernous sinus as a locus of pathology in cluster headache.

Angiography, Digital Subtraction↗

Horner's syndrome secondary to angiogram negative, subadventitial carotid artery dissection.

A 59-year-old man presented with the acute onset of paresthesias and pain in the left neck, face, and forehead. On subsequent investigation he was found to have a subadventitial type of carotid artery dissection, producing an ipsilateral Horner's syndrome with normal carotid angiography. MRI imaging of the neck structures, using fat saturation technique, showed the subadventitial dissection, sparing the vessel lumen. MRI offers a non-invasive method of diagnosis and follow-up for carotid artery dissection.

Blood Pressure↗

Intracranial hypertension associated with unruptured cerebral arteriovenous malformations.

Only 6 patients with intracranial hypertension associated with unruptured cerebral arteriovenous malformations have been reported. We report 6 additional patients seen at the Cleveland Clinic during the past 10 years. The average age was 28 years (range, 19-44 years); 4 were women. Symptoms and signs included papilledema (6 patients), headache (6), transient nonepileptic focal symptoms (4), visual obscurations (3), ipsilateral carotid or ocular bruits (3), abnormal visual fields (3), focal seizures (2), and progressive visual loss (1). Enhanced computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated the malformations in all 6 patients. The malformations were large, supplied by the branches of the middle and anterior cerebral arteries, with the posterior cerebral artery contributing in 3 patients, and all drained into the superior sagittal sinus. Associated venous obstruction was seen in 2 patients. Four patients underwent excision of the arteriovenous malformation, with resolution of papilledema in all 4. Measurements of cortical arterial and venous pressures during surgery in 3 patients showed decreased feeding artery pressures and elevated draining vein pressures, which normalized after removal of the malformation. Treatment in the 2 remaining patients consisted of medical therapy (acetazolamide, furosemide, steroids) alone in 1 patient, and in conjunction with proton beam radiation in the other. Papilledema resolved in the former patient, but the patient receiving proton beam radiation still had papilledema 2 years later. Intracranial hypertension associated with unruptured cerebral arteriovenous malformations occurs in young patients with high flow malformations that drain into the superior sagittal sinus, and is likely the result of increased cortical venous and superior sagittal sinus pressure. Excision of the malformation effectively reduces the intracranial pressure.

Adult↗

Neuro-ophthalmologic complications of cardiac catheterization.

We examined ten patients who, from 1981 to 1986, sustained neuro-ophthalmologic events during cardiac catheterization. Eight patients, most of whom recovered, were believed to have sustained embolic phenomena. Two patients experienced a typical migraine during the catheterization and likewise did well. We conclude that the likelihood of sustaining a neuro-ophthalmic complication during cardiac catheterization is low and that the prognosis after having sustained such a complication is generally favorable. Evidence suggests that artery-to-artery emboli is the dominant pathogenic factor.

Aged↗

Learning disabilities: update comment on the visual system.

The role of the eye in vision and its relationship to learning disabilities is discussed in this very timely article. A historical overview is included, as well as a consideration of the more recent neuroanatomic research in this area.

Brain↗