Evaluation of Posterior Fossa Tumor in Pediatric Age Group

A prospective study was conducted at the neurosurgical hospital for the period from October 2006 to October 2007 for 50 patients with posterior fossa tumors. It included 50 patients, all of them below 15 years, 28 females and 22 males, all were evaluated in respect to presenting symptoms and signs, and examined neurologically, scanned at least once. The presenting symptoms and signs were due to either increased intracranial pressure or due to local effect of the tumor. All patients have a laboratory investigations, and radiological studies including CT scan and MRI of brain. Results showed that 56% were females and 44% were males. The most common presenting symptom was headache; the next was vomiting, while papilledema was the presenting sign in 72% of patients. All patients underwent surgery except 2 cases with brain stem tumor send for radiotherapy. The study showed that 32 of patients need shunt before surgery and 4 need shunt after surgery. Total removal was in 36 of cases with mortality rate about 22% , while subtotal removal was in 12 of cases with mortality rate 17%.

Autorentext

Dr. Liwa Abdullah Ali: F.I.B.M.S. Neurochirurg - Dr. Mustafa Jarullah Neamah: F.I.B.M.S. Neurochirurg - Professor Dr. Ihssan S. Nema: F.I.B.M.S. Beratender Neurochirurg, Alnahrain University, College of Medicine, Al-Emamain Alkadhimain Medical City, Abteilung für Neurochirurgie, Bagdad, Irak.