Medulloblastomas were originally classified under gliomas of the cerebellum until Bailey and Cushing in 1925 named these tumors as medulloblastoma. At present these tumors are classified under primitive neuroectodermal tumor. Surgical excision followed by craniospinal irradiation is the treatment of choice. A 13-year-old-girl operated for posterior fossa medulloblastoma 5 years ago presented with history of headache and vomiting on and off for 4 days in late August 2008. The MRI showed left frontal tumor which on excision was reported as medulloblastoma. Even after optimal treatment reports of recurrence abound in literature. The most common location is in the posterior fossa, followed by spinal, supratentorial, and uncommonly, systemic metastases. We conclude that medulloblastomas are highly aggressive tumor with high local recurrences if the initial excision is incomplete and that recurrence in the supratentorial area although uncommon is still a possibility. This mandates regular follow up of these children till adulthood to catch early recurrences and metastatic disease.

Posterior fossa extradural haematoma is known for the vague signs and symptoms and a notoriouscourse that varies from recovery to sudden death. The incidence of posterior fossa epidural hematomasamong intracranial epidural hematomas has been reported from 4% to 7%. Subsequently, PFEDHwith low GCS or the haematoma of more than 10ml were subjected to evacuation. Since the volumeof the posterior fossa is limited, patients deteriorate early with the development of obstructivehydrocephalus, which is visible in the CT scan in only thirty percent of cases.A retrospective study of 43 cases was done in this Institute from May 1999 to December 2005. Themales (98%) have a clear predominance over female patients (2%). Road traffic accidents accountedfor the majority of the cases (80%), fall for the rest (17%) and one case due to a bullhorn injury.Vomiting was the most common symptom accounting for 67% of cases followed by transient lossof consciousness in 48% and headache in 34%. On arrival to the hospital 67% presented with a GCSmore than 13, 28% with score of 9-12 and the rest 5% with GCS of less than 8. Out of the total 43 casesof PFEDH surgical evacuation was done in 33(76%) and conservative management in 10 cases (23%).A dichotomised Glasgow outcome score was used to measure the outcome. This was favorable in27 of the 33 cases operated (81%), and 7 out of the 10 conservatively managed group (70%). Overallfavorable outcome was found in 34 cases (79%) with overall mortality of the study being 7%.Key words: extradural, haematoma, posterior fossa, trauma

Background: Ventriculoperitoneal shunt is one of the most commonly performed neurosurgical procedure, both on the elective and emergency basis. However this procedure is dreaded because of complications. There is lack of prospective studies on complications of shunt procedure. In this study, the indications for shunt, the types used and complications of ventriculoperitoneal shunts were studied. Methods: This was a prospective study carried out in the national neurosurgical referral centre, Bir hospital, Kathmandu from April 2004 to March 2005. Results: There were 109 ventriculoperitoneal shunt procedures during the study period. Among them 60 consecutive patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled for the study. There were 43 male and 17 female patients, with age ranging from 4 months to 75 years. Fourteen patients (23.3%) developed complications which included shunt block, shunt infection, over drainage and shunt extrusion. Conclusion: About one fourth all patients who underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery developed complications. Shunt block and infections were the major complications. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njms.v1i2.6612 Nepal Journal of Medical Sciences. 2012;1(2): 119-22

Introduction: Stroke is life threatening & debilitating neurological disease, defined as focal neurological deficit of sudden onset lasting >24 hours & vascular in origin. Significant association between ischemic type of stroke with carotid artery disease seen, more prevalent with carotid artery stenosis.  Objectives: This study was done to show association between extracranial carotid artery disease & cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) with the help of Color Doppler Sonography (CDS). The association between carotid artery disease with associated risk factors were also assessed.  Methodology: In this ethically approved prospective study, carotid CDS was done in 79 consecutive patients with diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). The various parameters studied included peak systolic velocity (PSV) of internal carotid artery (ICA) & common carotid artery (CCA), ICA/CCA PSV ratio & plaque characteristics. The data collected was analyzed with appropriate statistical test of significance was calculated.  Results: Total 79 patients with AIS included out of which 53 were males & 26 were females. The most common presenting complains were hemiparesis (30.4%) & most commonly associated risk factors included hypertension (62.02%). Right sided strokes were most common (44.3%) & middle cerebral artery was most commonly involved vascular territory. Significant stenosis (≥50%) of carotid artery was seen in 27 patients with ICA most common site (45.8%) for plaque formation. Bilateral carotid artery involvement (52.1%) with hypoechoic echotexture of atheromatous plaques (46.6%) was most responsible for significant stenosis & increased intima media thickness. Increased value of PSV & EDV was seen in the stenotic area in the proportion of stenosis with increased PSV ICA/CCA ratio of more than three indicates >60% stenosis.  Conclusion: The present study showed well documented role of carotid doppler in detection of site & extent of carotid artery stenosis due to atheromatous plaques of various characteristics playing critical role in thromboembolic phenomenon responsible for development of stroke.