Surgical methods in patients with Sylvian fissure arachnoid cysts

Abstract

Objective To choose the appropriate operation for patients with Sylvian fissure arachnoid cysts.Methods The data of 87 patients with intracranial arachnoid cysts(67 male,20 female,mean age 13.4 years),admitted to out hospital from March 2003 to August 2008,were retrospectively analyzed.Forty of them accepted simple endoscopic neurosurgery;19 of them accepted endoscope-controlled neurosurgery;22 of them accepted microsurgery.The efficacy and complications of these 3 methods were analyzed and compared.Results No significant differences on age,the size of the cysts,postoperative complications,the decreased size of the cysts and the improvement were found among these 3 methods(P>0.05).The operation time and bleeding volume of the simple endoscopic neurosurgery group were 97±26.8 min and 15±4.8 mL;the endoscope-controlled neurosurgery group were 87±27.6 min and 18±5.7 mL;the microsurgery group were 143±36.0 min and 160±39.6 mL.As compared with those in the first 2 groups,the operation time was statistically longer and the bleeding volume was obviously increased in the later group(P 0.05).Conclusion Endoscopic neurosurgery is an effective method with shorter operation time and less bleeding than craniotomy in treating the Sylvian fissure arachnoid cysts. Key words: Arachnoid cyst; Neuroendoscope; Surgical methods