An 18-year-old man who presented with weakness in his lower limbs, had an upper motor
The aim of this study was to explore the prognostic factors for postoperative neurological recovery and survival in patients with complete paralysis due to neoplastic epidural spinal cord compression. The medical records of 135 patients with complete paralysis due to neoplastic cord compression were retrospectively reviewed. Potential factors including the timing of surgery, muscular tone, and tumour characteristics were analyzed in relation to neurological recovery using logistical regression analysis. The association between neurological recovery and survival was analyzed using a Cox model. A nomogram was formulated to predict recovery.Aims
Patients and Methods
We describe three patients with pre-ganglionic (avulsion) injuries of the brachial plexus which caused a partial Brown-Séquard syndrome.
Spinal stenosis and disc herniation are the two
most frequent causes of lumbosacral nerve root compression. This
can result in muscle weakness and present with or without pain. The
difficulty when managing patients with these conditions is knowing
when surgery is better than non-operative treatment: the evidence
is controversial. Younger patients with a lesser degree of weakness
for a shorter period of time have been shown to respond better to surgical
treatment than older patients with greater weakness for longer.
However, they also constitute a group that fares better without
surgery. The main indication for surgical treatment in the management
of patients with lumbosacral nerve root compression should be pain
rather than weakness.
