A healthy 54-year-old woman presented with progressive abnormal acoustic sensations, aphasia, and visual-field disturbances. She reported no head trauma or recent infection, such as otitis media. An initial cranial radiograph revealed air in the left temporal region without evidence of a fracture (Panel A, arrow). A computed tomographic scan of the head showed a large amount of air in the left temporal lobe; the involved area was approximately 4 cm by 3 cm by 5 cm (Panel B, arrow).
Pneumocephalus is the presence of air or gas within the cranial cavity. It is usually associated with disruption of the skull: after head and facial trauma, tumors of the skull base, after neurosurgery or otorhinolaryngology, and rarely, spontaneously. Pneumocephalus can occur in scuba diving, but is very rare in this context.
If there is a valve mechanism which allows air to enter the skull but prevents it from escaping, a tension pneumocephalus can occur (similar to what can happen in a tension pneu
mothorax.
CT scans of patients with a tension pneumocephalus typically show air that compresses the frontal lobes of the brain, which results in a tented appearance of the brain in the skull known as the Mount Fuji sign.The name is derived from the resemblance of the brain to Mount Fuji in Japan, a volcano known for its symmetrical cone. In typical cases, there is a symmetrical depression near the midline (such as the crater of a volcano), due to intact bridging veins.
Its occurrence seems to be limited to tension pneumocephalus (not occurring in pneumocephalus without tension. The sign was first described by a team of Japanese neurosurgeons.
Pneumocephalus is the presence of air or gas within the cranial cavity. It is usually associated with disruption of the skull: after head and facial trauma, tumors of the skull base, after neurosurgery or otorhinolaryngology, and rarely, spontaneously. Pneumocephalus can occur in scuba diving, but is very rare in this context.
If there is a valve mechanism which allows air to enter the skull but prevents it from escaping, a tension pneumocephalus can occur (similar to what can happen in a tension pneu
mothorax.CT scans of patients with a tension pneumocephalus typically show air that compresses the frontal lobes of the brain, which results in a tented appearance of the brain in the skull known as the Mount Fuji sign.The name is derived from the resemblance of the brain to Mount Fuji in Japan, a volcano known for its symmetrical cone. In typical cases, there is a symmetrical depression near the midline (such as the crater of a volcano), due to intact bridging veins.
Its occurrence seems to be limited to tension pneumocephalus (not occurring in pneumocephalus without tension. The sign was first described by a team of Japanese neurosurgeons.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento