SMA Syndrome stands for Supplementary Motor Area Syndrome. It is a temporary neurosurgical condition first documented in 1977 and arises from damage to the supplementary motor area of the brain. It occurs in 26-100% of surgeries that take place in one of the two supplementary motor areas. We can think of it in 3 phases, which […]
Articles
Salt Disorders in Neurosurgical Patients
What are the most common salt disorders in neurosurgical patients? Various salt disorders can occur in neurosurgical patients including hormone disorders, medications-induced disorders and volume-related problems. The most common are: hyponatraemia which is a low blood sodium concentration (<135 mmol/l) without any identifiable cause SIADH – syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) secretion Cerebral salt […]
Spinal Dysraphisms
What is spinal dysraphism? Spinal dysraphism is a condition in which the spine does not form properly in a foetus, causing a gap in the spine. The spinal cord is the inner column of nerve tissue running along the length of the spine required for communication between the brain and the lower body. We know […]
Pediatric Primary Brain Tumors
Introduction A limp. Blurry Vision. Poor speech. Uncontrollable laughter. Altered personality. Excessive thirst and hunger. Lethargy. Vomiting. Headache. Weakness. Seizures…. Anything that the brain controls, brain tumours can impact. Brain tumours are the leading cause of paediatric cancer-related morbidity and mortality and the 2nd most common cause of paediatric cancer following leukaemia. Most paediatric brain […]
Haemangioblastoma
Firstly what is a tumour? A solid tumour is an abnormal mass of cells that grows on human tissue. We call these cells ‘neoplastic’, meaning ‘new growth’ – these growths are neither requested nor required. We usually distinguish between malignant and benign tumours. Cancerous tumours can be malignant and so they can grow quickly or […]