Background:Reperfusion injury of the spinal cord or “white cord syndrome” refers to the sudden onset of neurological deterioration after spinal decompressive surgery. Associated magnetic resonance (MR) findings only include focal hyperintensity on T2-weighted images without any other pathological changes.Case Description:A patient with cervical stenosis secondary to metastatic tumor in the intradural and extradural compartments presented with lower limb paraparesis. She underwent an uneventful tumor excision accompanied by posterior cervical decompression and fusion. Postoperatively, she was quadriplegic and required ventilator support. The emergent postoperative MR scan revealed focal hyperintensity on the T2-weighted image consistent with spinal cord edema extending into the lower brain stem.Conclusion:Very few cases of reperfusion injury of the cervical spinal cord or “white cord syndrome” are described in the literature. Here we present a patient who, following cervical laminectomy and fusion for excision of metastatic tumor, developed quadriplegia. Notably, postoperative MR showed only findings of upper cervical cord and lower brain stem edema consistent with a “white cord syndrome” without other compressive pathology.

Context:Hydrocephalus, due to subarachnoid or intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), meningitis, or tumor compression, is usually transient and may resolve after treatment. There are several temporary methods of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion, none of it is superior to the other, and the decision is based on its various etiologies and factors. Ventriculosubgaleal shunt (VSGS) is one of those temporary measures, which is a simple and rapid CSF decompression method without causing electrolyte and nutritional losses.Aims:The aim is to study the efficacy of VSGS for temporary CSF diversion, compared to extraventricular drainage (EVD) in adult hydrocephalus patients; to evaluate the outcome in terms of avoiding a permanent shunt, and to look for incidences of their complications.Settings and Design:This was a retrospective observational study.Subjects and Methods:The data were acquired from case notes of fifty patients with acute hydrocephalus: 26 secondary to IVH, 10 from aneurysm rupture, 8 posttrauma, and 6 from infection. All these patients had undergone CSF diversion in Hospital Queen Elizabeth II, Sabah, Malaysia, between 2013 and 2015. The patients were followed up from the date of treatment until the resolution of hydrocephalus, where parameters such as shunt dependency and complications were documented.Statistical Analysis Used:All analyses were carried out using Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences Version 22.0. Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test is used for univariate analysis of categorical variables.Results:A total of 21 (42%) patients underwent EVD insertion and 29 (58%) underwent VSGS insertion. Thirty-seven (74%) patients did not require a permanent shunt; 24 (64.8%) of them were from the VSGS group (P = 0.097). EVD had more intracranial complications (44.1%) compared with VSGS (23.5%), with a statistically significant P = 0.026.Conclusions:VSGS is a safe and viable option for adult hydrocephalus patients, with the possibility of continuation of the treatment for such patients in nonneurosurgical centers, as opposed to patients with EVDs. Furthermore, even though this method had no statistical difference in avoiding a permanent ventriculoperitoneal shunt, VSGS has statistically significant less intracranial complications compared with EVD.

Metastatic tumors are the most common mass lesions in the brain. This case reports a rare form of sarcoma with metastasis to the brain. The appropriate management of a patient with metastatic alveolar soft part sarcoma to the brain is discussed. Author describes a 32-year-old gentleman diagnosed with primary tumor at gluteus and distant metastases at lower lobe of right lung and the brain. Histopathology proves diagnosis as alveolar soft part sarcoma. Craniotomy with excision of brain lesion was done. Repeated magnetic resonance imaging of the brain after 2 months showed rapidly growing new lesions. The next step of management was made by the oncology team as recurrence rate was high and due to multi-systemic involvement. Patient was planned for palliative chemotherapy and to be reassessed later. This case report discusses the appropriate approach to any form of brain metastases and the role of early follow-up especially after surgery for better outcome and choice of post operative management such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy or both for malignant tumors. Based on this report, it was concluded that every brain tumor patient should be frequently monitored even in the outpatient setting as most of them are metastatic and rapidly spreading. The patient should be considered for radiotherapy or chemotherapy or both after surgery if the histopathology result is suggestive of malignancy.

Introduction:Healthcare costs continue to rise every day as the demand outgrows the supply of surgeons. The application of telephone consultation for immediate management is needed as most neurosurgeons are technology orientated. This enables a specialist at a remote mobile site to receive the necessary information and reduce transmission time, from the second the patient is seen till the management is obtained.Materials and Methods:We conducted a survey on smartphone ownership among doctors and gathered cases that needed neurosurgical input from 1st November 2012 till 30th April 2013 from all 24 district hospitals in Sabah, Malaysia.Results:The percentage of smartphone ownership among doctors surveyed and usage of it for remote and daily medicine at various departments at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, which shows at least 90% smartphone ownership and proves 100% ownership of cross-platform instant messaging applications and its usage for remote and daily medicine. It also proves to be a more popular mode of referral compared to “teleconsultation” (TC).Discussion:In Sabah, the TC service is used for remote medical consultation and only available at four hospitals. The sender needs direct access to a computer with the TC software, and it causes delay whereas doctors using smartphones will just need to discuss the case on the spot and obtain the appropriate management within minutes. Smartphone usage is also important in daily neurosurgery especially at the department level to promote efficient communication, organization, and interaction between all the staff. As for the department's administrative sector, it is useful to notify if anyone is on leave, attending courses or even meetings as the shortage can be avoided, and redistribution easily done. It also allows us to transfer simple intra-departmental data at any time, and any place whenever required.Conclusion:With all the given fact, it is clear that a day without utilizing this service in our daily life will leave us handicapped and struggling with time and resources.

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