Valentina Baro1, Riccardo Lavezzo2, Elisabetta Marton3, Pierluigi Longatti3, Andrea Landi2, Luca Denaro2, Domenico d'Avella2. 1. Academic Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova Medical School, via Giustiniani 5, 35100, Padova, Italy. valentina.baro@unipd.it. 2. Academic Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova Medical School, via Giustiniani 5, 35100, Padova, Italy. 3. Department of Neurosurgery, Treviso Hospital, University of Padova Medical School, Via Piazzale 1, 31100, Treviso, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The choice between sitting and prone position to access the infratentorial space in a suboccipital craniotomy is still a matter of debate. The comparisons in terms of complications and outcome of both positions are scarce, and the pediatric population is indeed more infrequent in these in scientific reviews. In this paper, we assess intraoperative and postoperative complications and neurological outcome in pediatric patients undergoing posterior cranial fossa surgery for pilocytic astrocytoma in sitting and prone position respectively. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 30 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma at the two neurosurgical units referring to the University of Padova Medical School from 1999 to 2017. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were retrieved from our medical archives. RESULTS: The statistical analysis did not show any differences between the two groups in terms of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data. The neurological status at last follow-up was similar in both groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that both sitting and prone position can be considered safe in suboccipital craniotomies. Further studies are needed to show if there are possible differences between these positions for other frequent pediatric tumors such as medulloblastomas and ependymomas.
PURPOSE: The choice between sitting and prone position to access the infratentorial space in a suboccipital craniotomy is still a matter of debate. The comparisons in terms of complications and outcome of both positions are scarce, and the pediatric population is indeed more infrequent in these in scientific reviews. In this paper, we assess intraoperative and postoperative complications and neurological outcome in pediatric patients undergoing posterior cranial fossa surgery for pilocytic astrocytoma in sitting and prone position respectively. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 30 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma at the two neurosurgical units referring to the University of Padova Medical School from 1999 to 2017. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were retrieved from our medical archives. RESULTS: The statistical analysis did not show any differences between the two groups in terms of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data. The neurological status at last follow-up was similar in both groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that both sitting and prone position can be considered safe in suboccipital craniotomies. Further studies are needed to show if there are possible differences between these positions for other frequent pediatric tumors such as medulloblastomas and ependymomas.
Authors: Teemu Luostarinen; Ann-Christine Lindroos; Tomohisa Niiya; Marja Silvasti-Lundell; Alexey Schramko; Juha Hernesniemi; Tarja Randell; Tomi Niemi Journal: World Neurosurg Date: 2016-10-12 Impact factor: 2.104