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Biomedical subjects

G López-Flores

Publications and source records attributed to G López-Flores.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

[Penetrating head injury from harpoon. Case report].

The harpoon presence as aggressor weapon is unusual in the neurosurgical practice. Most cases are associated with diving or sport activities as result of imprudence. A 31 year old patient who sustained a penetrating craniocerebral injury with a fishing harpoon is presented and complementary exams, neurosurgical procedure and postoperative evolution are detailed. We discuss the management of this unusual injury and review the current literature on craniocerebral injuries caused by similar objects.

Adult↗

[Electroencephalogram findings in lesionectomies: preliminary results].

INTRODUCTION: Use of the electrocorticogram (EcoG) in planning lesionectomies is a controversial subject at present. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We describe a series of 5 patients with epileptic crises, 3 with arteriovenous malformations in whom the lesion was completely resected, followed by postoperative angiography, and two with gliomas with low grade malignancy in whom iridium 192 was implanted. RESULTS: 1. The most frequent reason for consultation was convulsions. 2. In our series of patients the commonest site was the frontal zone of the right hemisphere. 3. Potentials with epileptiform characteristics were registered at the edges of the lesions and occasionally over the lesion itself. In two cases electro-clinical crises were seen. 4. The lesions were resected from normal tissue independently of the EcoG results. CONCLUSION: Although they are preliminary findings, the results of the study support the usefulness of this technique to guide the surgical procedures used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy.

Adolescent↗

[Central neurocytoma].

INTRODUCTION: A central neurocytoma (CN) is a rare tumor, of neuronal origin, well-differentiated and found intraventricularly. It mainly affects young adults. Firm diagnosis is made on immunohistochemical (IHQ) and ultrastructural studies, since on optic microscopy it is similar in appearance to an oligodendroglioma or to an ependymoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 4 cases, three after surgical resection and one on autopsy. The average age was 29, ranging from 3 to 63. Both sexes were equally affected. In all cases IHQ techniques were used (GFAP, neurofilament, synaptophysin and specific neuronal enolase) and they were studied by electron microscopy. RESULTS: IHQ was negative for GFAP and neurofilament, but intensely positive for synaptophysin and specific neuronal enolase. On ultrastructural study there were few neurofilaments, microtubules and dense central granules typical of neural differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in our cases lead to diagnosis of NC and confirm that this tumor is a distinct clinicopathological entity.

Adolescent↗

[Sepsis and antibiotic prophylaxis in stereotaxic neurosurgery].

INTRODUCTION: Stereotaxic surgery is becoming increasingly important because of the possibility of approaching the deep zones of the brain with less risk. It is in daily use in cerebral tumours and in the functional surgery of Parkinson's disease. The use of antibiotic prophylaxis in neurosurgery is controversial, although in many centres, including ours, all patients receive it. OBJECTIVE: To study the pre-operative clinical characteristics analysing the antibiotic prophylaxis used, septic complications seen and their management. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this study we included 93 patients with neurosurgical disorders operated on using a stereotaxic approach in the Neurosurgical Department of the Centro Internacional de Restauración Neurologica (Cuba) during 1997 and 1998, in which antibiotic prophylaxis was used and septic patients detected. The variables studied included age, sex, neurological disorders, surgical operations done and the antibiotic used for prophylaxis. We analysed the test of clinical criteria for sepsis in all patients. RESULTS: We found that a greater number of patients operated on had had functional surgery, which showed its importance as an alternative surgical method in Parkinson's disease. There was satisfactory use of antibiotic prophylaxis with a reduction in the rate of nosocomial infection; most infections were seen in the lower respiratory tract. CONCLUSION: These results support the hypothesis of use of antibiotic prophylaxis in stereotaxic surgery to achieve a reduction in intra-hospital infections in surgical patients.

Adolescent↗

[Complications of stereotaxic surgery for cerebral tumors. Minimal access neurosurgery].

INTRODUCTION: Complications of neurosurgery include the clinical, neurological and neurosurgical aspects. Their prevention and correction depend on satisfactory preoperative assessment and close postoperative follow-up. Although minimum access neurosurgery reduces some problems, the complexity and depth of many cerebral lesions cause problems. Therefore it is important to adhere to the above principles to obtain good results. OBJECTIVES: To determine the clinical complications, their early detection and course to be followed when they occur. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied 29 patients with intracranial tumors operated on using stereotaxic surgery during a period of two years. They were evaluated before and after surgery and the complications recorded. RESULTS: We discuss the most significant clinical aspects of peri-operative management. The main complications found were lower respiratory tract infection and hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: These results show the need for suitable management, even in minimum access surgery, in patients with cerebral tumors operated on using stereotaxis and underline the most significant complications.

Adolescent↗

[Presentation of distal saccular aneurysm as a subdural haematoma].

INTRODUCTION: Intracranial aneurysms are one of the most frequent vascular diseases. Nevertheless, saccular aneurysms that are not due to an inflammatory aetiology, which are located in the peripheral segment of the posterior circulation, are extremely rare. They are most frequently located in the thickest arterial branches within the region of the anterior brain circulation, as is the case of the complex made up of the anterior cerebral artery posterior communicating artery, middle cerebral artery and posterior communicating artery. No clinical manifestations are produced in many of these aneurysms, and their rupture and the subsequent development of a subarachnoid haemorrhage is the cause of the most intense neurological damage, which on occasions can lead to fatal consequences. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a patient who was a carrier of distal aneurysm, located in the posterior region of the brain circulation, and also the neuroradiological findings, the form of clinical presentation and surgical treatment carried out, which allowed us to identify and close the afferent vessel and the resection of the aneurysmatic sac. CONCLUSION: From the presentation of the symptoms of this patient in the form of a subarachnoid haemorrhage, accompanied by a subdural haematoma, it could be inferred that these clinical and imagenological findings point to the rupture of a distal aneurysm. Application of the stereotactic approach would be one of the first choice treatments for aneurysms in the distal region if we bear in mind the characteristics of the afferent vessel, the size of the neck and the morphology of the sac

Female↗

[Osteochondroma of the atlantooccipital joint. Extreme lateral transcondylar approach. A case description].

INTRODUCTION: We describe a patient diagnosed as suffering from a skull base osteochondroma which affected the atlantooccipital joint and originated in the occipital condyle. It also displayed a growth toward the foramen magnum, which was resected using an extreme lateral transcondylar approach. CASE REPORT: Patient aged 35, with a one year history of vertiginous seizures and unsteady gait, associated with cervical pain that irradiated to the right upper extremity, dysphagia, changes in the tone of the voice and distal numbness of the four extremities. The patient was made to lie in the three quarter prone position and an incision was made in the skin from the C3 spinous apophysis to a point 2 cm below the end of the mastoid process, in relation with the transversal apophysis of C1. The intervention continued with early identification and rotation of the vertebral artery; total resection of the tumour (osteochondroma) with its base in the right occipital condyle and growth toward the foramen magnum, in which the greater resection of the posteromedial third of the condyle is included. CONCLUSIONS: The location of osteochondromas can vary widely, and the condyle is one of the least frequent places inside the occipital bone. The approach employed provides excellent access to the region, in particular to the atlantooccipital joint. The width and angle of exposition are increased as compared with the traditional suboccipital approach, which facilitates the radical resection of the lesion with no neural retraction and without any surgical complications.

Adult↗

[Subthalamic nucleus targeting and spatial variability].

AIM: The effectiveness of anatomic localization of the subthalamic nucleus (EAL) was assessed and the mapping method is described here. The symmetry of contralateral nuclei (SCN) was analyzed on 11 parkinsonian patients submitted to bilateral subthalamotomy with ablative lesioning. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To assess EAL the percentage so much of first trajectory (p1) as the total of trajectories (pt) that hit the target and the rest of subthalamic nucleus average distance (d) was calculated. The anatomic localization error (epsilon) is determined as a difference between first trajectory coordinates with those of medial determined nucleus point, through electrophysiological data as to the statistical significance of this error. SCN is analyzed by contrasting equality hypothesis at the nucleus maximum height alongside a trajectory, average electrophysiological position center and spatial distribution of all intranuclear recordings found in each hemisphere in all patients. RESULTS: The pi, pt and d obtained values were 86.36%, 86.13% and 1.41 +/- 1.01 mm respectively. The epsilon value was greater in anteroposterior direction of 1.11 +/- 0.83 mm without statistical significance. The average number of recorded trajectories for the first procedure was 6.45 and 6 for the second. The asymmetry of contralateral nucleus was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: An indirect method with CT brain images and a new electrophysiological mapping method with a multiunitary recording for first and second nucleus is safe enough and it yields a high effectiveness in anatomofunctional nucleus localization. The nucleus of a same patient are symmetrical. There is little space variability among patient non related to the differences in the intercommissural distance.

Aged↗

[The diagnosis of arteriovenous malformations of the brain].

INTRODUCTION: Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) of the brain are, at present, entities that are difficult to diagnose owing to the variations in their clinical presentation and the different localisations in the central nervous system. Their most frequent clinical forms are haemorrhage, which is typically located in the intraparenchymatous region, seizures and, less frequently, vascular headache and progressive neurological deficit. DEVELOPMENT AND CONCLUSIONS: Several imaging studies with different resolutions must be performed for a final and conclusive diagnosis of an AVM, and brain angiography remains the first choice procedure, both in diagnosis and in planning management. The more recent use of functional studies has enabled us to better evaluate the haemodynamic characters of AVM and the repercussion on the surrounding brain tissue. The use of transoperative angiography, as a complement in resective surgery, allows us to determine the level of resection before closing the skull and, thus, to correct technical defects. It therefore diminishes the post operative complications derived from remnants of the lesion.

Cerebral Angiography↗

[Modes of treatment for arteriovenous malformations of the brain].

INTRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Over the years new kinds of therapy have been incorporated into the treatment of arteriovenous malformations (AVM). Current treatment of AVM of the brain employs three well established options: radiosurgery, endovascular therapy (embolisation) and microsurgical resection. Radiosurgery is the simplest and least invasive, but 2 3 years are required to achieve total obliteration, and throughout this time there is the risk of bleeding; its use is limited to small AVM. Embolisation today plays a fundamental role more as an adjunct than when it is associated, although the other modes improve their cure interval by 25%. Microsurgery has the advantage of being the only mode of therapy that offers a degree of immediate angiographic obliteration of almost 100% and is still the most widely employed, despite its morbidity rate also being the highest. We establish an AVM management algorithm, in which, according to the size and localisation, we suggest that these therapeutic options should be used alone or in combination. CONCLUSIONS: The management of these lesions requires a combined effort of all the factors that can be of any help in the solution, and these modes are more complementary than competitive in situations in which they are all valid therapeutic options.

Algorithms↗