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“Pineal Region Tumour Management - A Stereotactic Perspective”. An invited article written by Prof Ostertag. It highlights the emotional debate amongst neurosurgeons about this topic. He emphasises the importance of preoperative assessment of patients, recommends stereotactic biopsy over operative exploration, especially for patients who do not benefit from open surgery. He also delineates the management plan of these tumours after the tissue diagnosis. “Surgical Management of Hydrocephalus Techniques and Complications” by Khamlichi, et al, reviews the various treatments available for this common neurosurgical condition. Procedures available for surgical treatment include various forms of CSF shunts and endoscopic third ventriculostomy. Authors highlight various parameters to be considered for the choice of surgical treatment and the shunt system to be used. They also review their results of 271 patients treated surgically. “Percutaneous Balloon Compression of the Gasserian Ganglion for Trigeminal Neuralgia” by Benoit and Baeesa reviews the utilisation of balloon catheter for gasserian ganglion compression through the percutaneous route. Authors review their procedures in 33 patients and emphasise its better tolerance and no mortality from this procedure. It is a reasonable choice for elderly patients, those with a higher risk for posterior fossa surgery and patients with recurrent trigeminal neuralgia. “CT Scan Predictors - Bad Outcome of Traumatic Brain Lesion” by Al Haj, et al is a good illustration of newly developed scoring system for head injuries. The scoring system has to be validated and its reliability established before it could be established as a routine outcome scale in head injuries. “Primary Intracranial Ewing's Sarcoma of Calvarium presenting as Acute Neurosurgical Emergency” by Syed is a case review of a condition not previously reported. The tumour needs to be differentiated from neuroblastoma, lymphoma and rhabdomyosarcoma histologically. The clinical presentation may be variable depending upon location. A discussion follows the case report which covers the literature search on the topic in the management plan for this uncommon condition. “Intraspinal Neurenteric Cyst” by Hassan, et al, reports 2 cases with this developmental abnormality. Patients usually present with silent symptoms of myelopathy and radiculopathy. Early diagnosis and treatment leads to complete neurological recovery. Untreated lesions will continue to grow and delayed treatment leads to progressively increased neural compression and irreversible changes. “Thoracic Epidural Spinal Angiolipoma” by El Abbadi, et al, describes an extradural spinal angiolipoma in a young Moroccan male. Surgical management of this condition resulting in marked clinical improvement has been mentioned. Importance of surgical treatment has been illustrated by the authors. “Spinal Cord Compression Secondary to Extramedullary Haematopoiesis in Thalassaemia” by Yedeas, et al, reviews the spinal epidural extramedullary haematopoiesis causing cord compression in patients with thalassaemia. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of this condition has been emphasised followed by radiation therapy and blood transfusion. “Acquired Cerebellar Toxoplasmosis in Non Immunocompromised Child” by Fahmy is a case review of an uncommon condition. The author has looked at the literature published about this topic of growing interest. “Clinical and Epidemiological Study of CNS Tumours in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia” by Al Luwimi is a fellowship thesis conducted by the principle investigator to assess the prevalence of CNS tumours in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Primary brain tumours constitute the largest percentage followed by secondary brain tumours. Gliomas are the most common, as reported, although there is an increasing number of meningiomas in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. “Management Protocol Algorithm” edited by Amir Panezai looks at the common conditions requiring uniform management plan. These protocol should be assessed and uniformity should be established in management of these common conditions. “Intercollegiate Examination in Neurosurgery” gives the guidelines for the overseas neurosurgical trainees to prepare for this exit qualification in the UK. It has been taken from the information sheet provided by the Royal College to overseas doctors. “Abstracts from the Pan Arab Society Meeting” at Sharm-Al Sheikh have also been included. Although this is not a comprehensive list of abstracts presented at the meeting we include those we received. We apologise to those who presented papers, but which we did not receive copies of. |
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http://www.panarabneurosurgery.org/ |
